Touch In The Worlds
by Vasilisa Westwood
Summary: A Girl with no love for the mindless ramble that is Twilight is chosen for a mission... What is the mission? Who chose her? Waking up in the world of our own friendly vampires she discovers the story is perhaps not really as it was written. Where will her mind take her? And Where will her Heart go? Read and Find Out
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

 **READING** Twilight was one of those mind-numbing processes that brought me down to a comfortable level of having to do nothing. Literally, it was one of those things you do just because it entails no thought, no exploration and no…well, no brain function at all.

Normally, I just read it when I was too worked up to figure up to a complicated series or novel.

Bella and Edward were unexceptional and it didn't take much to work out their minds or their actions or their consequences.

I yawned, placing the book on my night table; I'll put it back tomorrow. My school was hard, my need to do well was being challenged and I was almost this close to giving it all up and taking life up as a hermit. I wonder how much pay that would be…not.

I glanced at the book again before switching off my lights and going to sleep.

The girl slept peacefully while the lady kept watch. She was perfect for the mission. Letters of condescension burned her but this girl…this girl right here would help end it all…

If only she knew how horrible it would turn out…


	2. 1: We're going to Forks! Wait, what?

1: We're going to Forks! Wait, what…?

 _DISCLAIMER: ALL ORIGINAL/CANON CHARACTERS BELONG TO STEPHANIE MEYER_

 _ALL NEW INSERTS BELONG TO ME_

"Tulika, wake up!" I felt a hand shaking me and I jerked awake, half dazed and disoriented. Was I late? I couldn't be late, I had an alarm. It didn't go. It has to go; I double check it like the paranoid freak that I am.

I shook my head of all these thoughts then turned over to look at the girl standing beside my bed.

"Who are you?" I asked the girl and she raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

"What do you mean who am I?" she asked.

I examined her. Long brown hair and eyes, pale white skin, slender and average height, nope, I didn't know her from Eve.

"I mean, who are you and what are you doing in my room?" I said again.

Now she frowned.

"It's me, Bella," she said.

I stared at her. For a split second, my eyes darted to the book on my nightstand but it wasn't there. "Bella…Swan…?" I asked.

She nodded. "Renee and Charlie Swan's daughter; Bella," I asked. "Yes, what are you…oh wait, is this one of your dramatic phases?"

What was she talking about?

"Ok…" I slipped off the bed and inched back. This had to be a dream. There was no way Bella Swan was in my bedroom. "Look, Mom and Phil need to drive us to the airport and drive off for Jacksonville, we need to leave tomorrow morning so if you want to -,"

"Why do we need to go to the airport?" I asked as she turned and walked to the door before turning and giving me an incredulous look.

"We're going to Forks." She said and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

I tore through the room like a tornado.

This has to be a dream. There was no hint of a rainy Vadodara outside the window. It was a very sunny…I assumed it was Phoenix, since she mentioned 'going to Forks' not 'in' Forks.

I opened the closet and the drawers; there was nothing of mine in there. How was I supposed to go anywhere if I had no belongings? Most importantly, my copy of Twilight was gone.

"Tulika, honey…?" I looked up to see a woman with short, slightly straggly brown hair enter the room.

"Yeah, yes," I said.

"Bella said you were a little strange this morning; is everything ok? I know you moving here for a week only to be moving again must be hard but we had a word with your mom and…" I cut her off.

"You talked with my mom?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Can I talk to her?" I asked. She looked worried but handed me her phone. I dialed my mother's still familiar number from her recent calls.

 _Renee,_ my mother answered.

Thank you, God.

"Mom, what's happening?" I asked, noticing the woman leave the room.

 _What do you mean, dear?_ She asked.

"I mean, what I am doing in Phoenix; wait, this is a dream. I'm dreaming," I said.

 _Tulika, are you ok? Why would you be dreaming? Are you worried about Forks? We told you, you can come back anytime you want._ She said.

"Mom, how do you Renee?" I asked.

 _We're college friends,_ she said slowly, as if explaining addition to a toddler.

"Mom," I said then stopped. This was a dream. It had to be a long, vivid, very realistic dream; I wasn't unfamiliar to those. "Thanks," I said and hung up without hearing her reply.

Ok, time to think.

If this was a dream; I'd wake up sometime. All I had to do was play along or…dream along so I wouldn't risk a 'rough awakening'. Grabbing the phone, I went downstairs, following the hall to a small kitchen with airy windows. A man was sitting, reading the sports section of the paper at the table and he smiled as he looked up at my entrance. I smiled back.

"Um…" I paused, what was I supposed to call her? Renee or the name of Phil…what was it again? I settled to just say, "Here's your phone, thanks," I said.

"Oh honey, is everything ok? Do you want to go back?" she asked.

"No…" I looked up as Bella climbed down the stairs. "Actually I need to shop," I said.

Bella accompanied me to the store. Since, it was cheap; I grabbed seven tops, five jeans, three socks, two pairs of shoes and a pair or all weather boots and jackets.

Normally, I'd have said that Bella was the kind of girl who was always a little ditsy it the head…well judging from the way Meyer wrote her. It wasn't completely like that.

She was quiet and shy, yes, but also she was well-spoken, unlike the teenagers we'd passed on the roads who actually talked in the 'text language'. I hated those teenagers.

She was also well convinced that we were best friends. A fact that I had to digress to comply with since she was literally the only kid I knew. She talked like she'd known me forever but I was also quick to notice she actually did know some basic generic stuff about me. She'd brought me some clothes into the trial room that my matched my tastes and she'd also held up the Black Hand leather sewn boots that I did end up buying.

All in all, she wasn't all that bad.

Although, I'd have to wait to mentally give the 'best friend' card.

The day went my getting to know the Phil family as I mentally called it.

He talked to me about baseball and I understood some points. I helped Renee not set the kitchen alight as she tried to make an extravagant going away meal. I actually browsed with Bella through her stuff as we'd be 'sharing everything' as Bella put it.

By the end of the extravagant meal, we had to order pizza to avoid oil consumption and food poisoning.

The next morning, I woke up early and went to Bella's bedroom and flopped down on the bed as she finished her packing.

"I thought you hated Forks," I said.

She sighed, "We've already had this conversation," she mumbled. I popped my lips. If I really was here for a week, and knowing me I probably would've asked why exactly she had gone to Forks. The reasons in the book were the definition of vague.

"Yeah well," I prodded and she shrugged picking up her bags and jerking her head towards the door.

Phil and Renee drove us to the airport and we said our goodbyes.

"I feel so much more comfortable sending her with you." Renee said as she hugged Bella. "Sure Mom," Bella said, shooting me a grin as she hugged Phil next.

"You call me when you get there and don't worry Tulika; you can come back to us anytime you want. Bella and you look after yourself, ok?" she said, wrapping me in a tight embrace.

"Thanks Renee," I said. Phil wrapped one arm around me as he ruffled my hair with the other. "Keep an eye on this one here; she attracts the flies," he told Bella as Renee swatted his arms. "Ok, be safe and be good, take care of each other and remember we love you two," she said.

"Ok,"

"Bye Renee, Phil," I said.

"Say hi to Charlie for me. Don't give him too much grief," she said as we boarded the flight.

So far so good; late at night I had realized with a horror that I was not dreaming. I'd tried pinching myself, looked for clocks and actually found nine in the entire house. I'd even counted my toes and fingers and actually tried smothering before coming to the drastic conclusion that I was in Twilight.

That wasn't as scary. It would've been scary if I was in some place with proper vampires and not glittering fairies. The scary part was that I had no idea how I got there or how I was supposed to go back.

Around 4, after I'd fought off a near massive panic attack by trying to breathe under water, I'd told myself to wait and watch.

If I came here by doing nothing maybe I could also leave by doing nothing and just going with the flow.

Bella fell asleep on the flight to Seattle and breathed gently against my shoulder that she'd decided to use as a pillow. I chose to stare out the small circular window as the clear starry sky gently began to get cloudier and cloudier.

I woke her up when we arrived and took the plane to Port Angeles.

"You're silent," she said suddenly, making me turn my head to her. "You're never so quiet," she said.

"I'm fine, I'm just saying bye to the sun," I said wryly. She smiled but then looked away.

At Port Angeles, Bella moved towards a man standing in front of a police cruiser. Oh right, Charlie was the Chief. He wrapped an awkward arm around Bella and an even more awkward and stiff one around me and I hugged back. I liked Charlie; he always seemed like the cool nerdy dad.

"You haven't changed; how's Renee?" he asked.

"Moms' fine; she says hi," Bella said. "So, Tulika, how'd you like Phoenix?" he asked. "It was sunny, I guess it was ok," I said smiling as he put our bags into the boot. I slipped in the back as Bella took the passenger seat and we started a quiet drive to Forks.

Bella and he chatted about Bella's infamous truck as I sent a text to Phil and Renee that we'd landed and we were with Charlie.

"Oh Bella, I'm sure it's really great. Charlie's got a great eye for running trucks, right?" I asked, grinning. Bella gave a low snort and Charlie chuckled softly.

"Thanks Tulika, I appreciate it." He said.

"And we appreciate you," I said. It was true; Charlie didn't nearly get as much credit as he deserved.

I sat back and looked out the window as the sprawling green woods and the City of Oz like surroundings. Only difference was, I didn't need green glasses to see it. It was already too green.

At Charlie's house, Bella got her old room while I was given the guest room that had its own bathroom. Wow, this was not mentioned in the books.

The room faced east, the back yard and over the fence the edge of the woods.

I dumped my stuff in a corner and walked to Bella's room. She whipped a tear when I entered and I pretended not to notice.

"So, first day of school tomorrow, you excited?" I asked.

"Take a guess," she said.

"I'm guessing, you're so over enthused you're having trouble expressing it so you're turning into Wednesday Addams." I said.

"Tulika," she rolled her eyes and I grinned. "Hey, it'll be fine, you're going to have me there and you know how kick ass I can get." I said.

"That is exactly what I'm worried about," she teased.

"Rude," I stuck out my tongue at her and went back to my room. This version of Bella was quite growing on me.

The next day was a little tense. I was suddenly losing the confident edge I had about myself and the quiet breakfast with Bella and Charlie did nothing to improve it.

Soon it was time for school and Charlie bid us good luck and went to work.

Bella and I swung our jackets on and sloshed our way to the truck and quickly entered it. It was as warm and toasty as I expected. Bella revved the engine and drove us to school.

"Does it feel like an institution?" she asked.

"I wouldn't know, I can barely see it," I said trying to squint at the maroon buildings through the haze of green trees and shrubbery.

Bella stopped the truck in front of the front office and I sighed. Well, time to pose as the piper.

Most of the talk was done by Bella, sometimes interjected by the Office Clerk as she handed us both timetables which were similar with only a couple different classes.

She handed us slips to get signed by the teacher and two maps of the school before bidding us good luck for the day.

Bella and I entered the parking lot and I shrieked, "Not there!" as she began pulling into the first empty space. "What is it?" she shrieked back.

I observed the lot and pointed to a spot open by two cars, one silver and another deep gun metal blue. "There,"

"What was wrong with that place?" she grumbled as she obeyed.

"Well, it's close to both the front gates and the exit, right smack in the middle so we'll be able to see everybody." I reasoned.

"Yeah, you're the only one who gets that," she said.

"No one likes a killjoy Bells," I said and got out of the cab, her following.

We had English first, with Mr. Mason in building 3. He gawked at us then pointed to an empty seat in the back. Thank gods for that; at least Bella and I were together.

The reading list was basic…too basic. Shakespeare, Bronte, Chaucer, Faulkner…

After the class, a slick haired kid leaned forward looking at us. "You're Isabelle and Tulika, right?" he asked.

"Bella," she corrected.

"I'm Eric," he said and I smiled at him. "What's your next class?" "Trig and I really don't like it so I better find it quick," I gathered my stuff and left to find the 7 classroom.

The teacher, Mr. Varner actually made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. Who even does that anymore?

"Well, I'm Tulika Mukherjee; I'm new here, obviously. I'm not all that bright at Trig so if you could excuse me sir, and not hate me…" I gave him my best disarming smile and he rolled his eyes, his lips twitching as he directed me to sit beside a girl with curly brown hair.

"Hi, I'm Jessica," she said.

I turned to her. "Hi, nice to meet you," I said.

So this was Jessica Stanley; long way from Anna Kendrick. She was tiny, even shorter than me but her wildly curly hair made her seem tall.

"You live with the Swans don't you?" she asked.

"Yes, we're family friends," I told her, before we had to turn to the teacher.

After three more classes, I walked towards the lunchroom and saw Bella being led by Jessica. "Hey," I said, walking to her and linking arms.

"Hi," she said. "Hey, Tulika, come sit here!" she sidled sideways away from Bella. I slipped between them and stopped, remembering something.

This was the first day at Forks. This was also where the Cullens live. What if…?

I turn slightly and look around the room.

There they were…I think. After all, no one else in that room was as quiet as them…or as beautiful.

Now, I had nothing against the actors who had played the characters in the movies, I'm sure they were very nice people and all but hands down, they had nothing on these people. I wondered who thought it was fine to allow these beautiful people to be born then continue to roam the earth eternally as sparklers.

The biggest one had to be Emmett; his hair was curly and big toned muscles wrapped around his body, corded tight. Beside him, was the most beautiful blonde girl I'd ever see; she had pale blond almost white hair curling down to her mid back as she looked over her reflection in a spoon – wow, someone was sure conceited. Two down were another couple, another blond guy and a girl with dark shiny short hair. Wasn't Alice supposed to have spiky pixie hair? I shrugged it off then looked at the last boy, trying (and slightly failing) to look unconcerned.

The boy was structured and defined to a tee. Bella had compared him to Adonis and I had to admit, she wasn't that far off. I studied him with a critical eye. I liked Robert but I had to say, this guy would make him weep. Golden brown hair spiked up high to the side on his head, leaving a clear forehead with perfect eyebrows and a razor blade nose. His mouth was plump as he murmured something to the others, not one giving any indication of having heard him.

I couldn't see his eyes from that far away but I knew that they had to be coal black. I looked at Bella when I heard her say "Who're they?" clearly having caught the angelic people later than me.

Even as Jessica looked around; the guy who had to be Edward glanced our way, his eyes flickering over Jessica then to me and Bella.

I dropped my gaze to the ground immediately a horrified thought crossing my mind. He could hear my thoughts right? I mean, I was no Bella, I actually had a mind to hear but still if he could hear me or even not hear me, depending, I was in no circumstance to let him know I knew about them. The results would be disastrous.

I didn't look up again as I listened to Jessica explain the 'Cullens' to Bella, instead choosing to pick at my tomato salad bored. "What do you think, Tulika?" Jessica said in a tone implying my opinion meant the world to her.

"Oh," I glanced once at the Cullens reluctantly and shrugged. "I'm not sure, if I am the best to judge. Bella, I think I'll head to Biology, give me your stuff so I can get it signed." I said, rising from the seat.

She looked surprised. "Oh, um…" I waited patiently as she dug through her bag and handed me the slip and I marched out, throwing one last look behind me to see Edward looking over at me.

This was bad.

I nearly fled towards the biology class and took a seat at the very back, so I could be far from prying eyes and prying vampire powers.

It was then I came up with a plan. Edward could only listen in a certain range of distance. I had to make sure to actually think out of that range. When the teacher arrived, I quickly had my and Bella's slips signed and sat back down when the door opened the Edward Cullen walked in.

There went my thinking time…I began mindlessly chanting the first thing that sprung at me.

 _Twinkle – twinkle little star…how I wonder what you are…_

I caught him look at me with a stupefied expression and very nearly smirked. He probably thought I was completely off my rocker.

He took the seat right in front of me and I cringed back, my mental volume increasing to block him out.

"Miss Mukherjee, if you could take the seat beside Mr. Cullen," Mr. Banner said.

 _Twinkle – twinkle little – son of a…_

Edward completely turned around to look at me when he heard the incomplete expletive and I ignored him. He stared as I picked up my stuff and dumped them beside his on the table, slumping down on the seat.

I could feel his gaze on my face.

"Hello," he said in a calm tone which clearly hid an underlying strip of bemusement.

I turned to look at him. "Hey," I said for the sake of politeness. Well, he either thought I was crazy insane or crazy rude…guess which one I preferred?

"Are you ok? You seem a little…upset," he said quietly, still trying to hide his amusement.

Nah, just the fact that you're a vampire, who wants to eat my only friend and now I'm the one sitting next to your Royal Stalker Highness…what could possibly be wrong?

"I guess it's just newbie nerves," I said blandly.

Without meaning to I looked into his eyes and was surprised to see just how dark they were. "You have really black eyes," I blurted out.

He arched an eyebrow, "Is that a compliment?" he asked. "Maybe, it's just I've never see eyes that black," I said.

Tulika, shut up, I told myself furiously.

He considered my answer then smiled, showing a blinding set of pearly whites.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he said. I nodded then extended a hand. "Tulika Mukherjee," I said. He glanced at the hand, probably surprised that I was giving off an indication of physical contact. I waited a few seconds until I began dropping the hand. His hand shot out and encased mine in an ice cold hand shake but I made a point of not noticing.

The bell – a nasal sound – went and I waited for Bella, waited for Edward to stiffen up like a ripe banana.

People began filing in and I looked up just as Bella walked in, stumbling slightly. Oh Bella, I mentally sighed and as expected she was sent to sit diagonally opposite to me. As she drew closer, she smiled and I returned it just as Edward began to play '…and Statue!' with himself.

I turned to look at him and almost recoiled at the look on his face myself.

His face was twisted, nostrils flared as he glared at poor Bella in utter rage.

To her credit, she barely looked at him, just sitting forward and pulling out her stuff without a care that her best friend was sitting next to a ravenous vampire. Because, no matter how sarcastic I got, it didn't change the fact that they were blood drinking monsters.

His fingers were digging into the black countertop and one more ounce of pressure would cave the whole thing in. I had to distract him somehow.

I rummaged in my bag and pulled out a bottle of acetone that I kept for stains. "Edward," I hissed and he glanced at me, the full force of his glare turned towards me.

I slid the bottle across the marble and it bumped against his clenched fists. He looked down at me then back up and the glare melted slightly into confusion. "It'll help with the smell," I whispered and turned around to face the teacher.

Out of the corner I saw him unscrew the bottle and take a deep breath before stopping his breath completely.

The rest of the class went by intense silence. I'd shrunk away from him for my own safety and when the bell rang, I was packed up and out of my seat racing towards the door. I heard Bella call after me and turned to see Edward zoom out, his eyes on me for a minute then away as he charged away.

"Hey, why'd you run away?" Bella asked as I stopped to wait for her.

"I just -," I broke off when a blond boy made his way towards us. This one had to be Mike.

"You're Isabella and Tulika, right?"

"Bella," we both corrected then smiled at each other.

"I'm Mike, you girls got gym right?" he asked. I nodded and began walking with him as he chatted.

"So, what was the deal with Cullen today?" he asked.

I looked at Bella to see her throw him a questioning look. What, had she seriously not even noticed? "I kind of sort of stabbed him with my pencil," I said dryly and Mike laughed.

"The dude is kind of weird; I'd have talked to you if I sat next to you," he said.

"Thanks Mike," I said and followed Bella into the girl's locker room.

Gym was easy. We had a lecture on volleyball after which were let go when I remembered something from the book. "Bell, here I'll submit these things why don't you take the truck out?" I asked.

"Um, I'm fine," she said.

I paused and gave her an irritated look. Why did she always have to be so stubborn and difficult?

"Bella, you are going to walk out to the parking lot – alone – without me and you are going to talk to whoever comes in your way. Be a man…or rather don't, be a girl – Girl Power!" I said sternly, trying to infuse my desperation at keeping her away from a particularly hungry vampire into trying to shove her towards socialism instead of Mope Land.

I mean, was it so wrong at trying to give the girl some distance from life devoid of anything but danger? Plus, she only ever was a pushover.

 _You mean you want to fight a fated love between a vampire and a human girl? Right, because that is so very easy._ My brain told me snidely.

Snide Brain, shut up, I snapped back as I physically pushed Bella towards the truck. "Ok, ok, going, my god, are you pushy," she huffed and walked away, trying to spin gracefully but failing when the edge of her bag caught one of the potted plants. I giggled behind my hand.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped my mind free of all thought and began humming mentally as I entered the office.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk with his back to me. I let a draft flood in the room so it would wash off any smell of Bella lingering around me.

I stood by the door and waited, listening into what he was saying.

"There has to something open – biochemistry, technical, anything." He murmured. "I'm sorry, Edward, but there's nothing I can do. If it's Mr. Banner, I can -,"

His head suddenly jerked sideways as if he was going to look around but stopped himself. "It's fine. I can see it's impossible. Thank you," he said and began walking towards me. No, walking towards the door, of course, why would he be coming towards me? I waited for him to leave until his posture stiffened and he glared at the door. I turned my head to see Bella holding the door open, gaping at Edward Cullen with an astounded face.

Damn it, Bella.

I slowly looked at Edward as his pale face went even whiter if it was possible. Alarm bells went off in my head as he stalked one step towards my friend and immediately my protective instincts kicked in.

I always saw my friends as mine, only mine to hurt or comfort. It was probably very selfish and maybe even very silly of me but I had a set of rules regarding people I liked. Bella did happen to be my best friend here and no one hurt my best friend. It didn't matter if it was an exceptionally powerful vampire who could hear my thought.

I was wired in a weird way.

I stepped forward and grabbed Bella's wrist, pulling her slightly towards me and she jumped, looking at me with wide eyes. I was staring at Edward, waiting if he would pull a move. His eyes didn't flicker at me as he just glared hatefully at Bella then walked out without a word.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Why did you come back?" I hissed.

"To give you this slip I forgot, what was wrong with him?" she asked. "Nothing, you heard Mike, he's weird," I dismissed and pulled her with me towards the desk to finish the school day.

Bella muttered the whole way back home and I stared out the window.

It wasn't that I didn't like the characters as proper people.

In real life I probably would be friends with all these characters but in this context it seemed more unnatural. Bella might think she was meant to be a vampire but she really wasn't. She wasn't cunning enough to survive without the Cullens and the werewolves fawning over her and that bothered me.

What would've happened if she'd run into vampires without their protection? She'd be easy meat.


	3. 2: An Overdramatic Return & Ruined Snow

2: An Overdramatic Return and a Ruined Snow Day

DISCLAIMER: ALL CANON CHARACTERS GO TO TEAM MEYER! ALL NEW CHARACTERS TO TEAM ME!

* _Edward peers at the chapter on my screen_ * You sure they're going to like it?

* _I smile at the reads section_ * I hope so...

As expected, thanks to Stephanie Meyer, Edward Cullen didn't come to school.

Having read the book just hours before my arrival in this world, most details were fresh in my mind but I couldn't remember how long it was before he pulled himself back together enough to come back.

With each passing day, I eased up in my new surroundings and Bella – who wasn't as incompetent to be my newly allotted best friend – grew tenser. How did I know? Well, we had this conversation when I finally got tired of seeing her clench up during lunch.

"Bella, sweetheart, stop losing sleep over this one guy," I'd said.

"I'm not...it's just..." she'd bit her lip.

"Just what...?" I'd asked.

"Do you think it was something about me? Did you see him glare at me?" she asked.

To be honest, I knew it was true. I mean in the book, Meyer wanted us to think Bella felt an instant connection between herself and Edward so she slipped that one in on us. Well, this was real life...or as real as it could get anyways.

It kind of irked me that she thought that. He glared at her. Big deal; maybe he was just a jerk, but no, why would Bella think of that?

"Really Bella, maybe he's just a douche, there really isn't that much of a scarcity of those." I'd said.

Without waiting for a reply I'd walked out of her room.

Yeah, so that hadn't worked. I spent the next few days getting to know the minor characters. I found Jessica wasn't that much of a resentful fool, Mike was a hopeless Casanova, Eric was actually quite nice and Angela who seemed very shy could actually become very outspoken if properly prodded. Lauren wasn't just a mean bitch thrown in to provide friction for Bella and Tyler was just as much into Lauren as she into him.

They seemed to find me a lot easier to get along than Bella as Angela had quietly told me so when I was trying to pull her out of her shell. Well, that had been flattering and also a little worrying. Shouldn't they be pulling on Bella like a tug of war rope?

I also improved my relationship with Charlie and kept in touch with Renee through the phone. She was worried about Bella but seemed thankful for the daily updates and any juicy gossip I could pass on. Charlie had seemed to take me for the younger, pampered and spoilt rotten daughter he never had. We joked, teased Bella sometimes and even watched the news and games together.

He would discuss some of his cases with me and I would give him some suggestions all thankfully belonging to me since Meyer hadn't seemed to be much interested in his job. Turns out, a police chief's job is pretty interesting.

Bella had taken to clucking around like a mother hen. She even dragged me food shopping with her even though Charlie and I both protested we were fine with the junk food. Teasing of course, the burgers were good but it had been a while I'd had anything else.

Bella swung by to read Wuthering Heights and kept on reading while I broiled some chicken pieces and baked some potatoes. What, I never said I can't cook.

Bella came down to eat giving me an almost impressed look as Charlie entered the house, calling out a greeting. "Hey, rat enchiladas are ready!" I called.

"Huh," he asked rushing into the kitchen with a petrified expression on his face and Bella elbowed me, pulling down salad bowls and some veggies as I set the table. "Relax, dad, she's just messing with you," Bella said.

Ever the peace keeper, I sighed.

"Want to catch the last game, T?" Charlie called. "Nope, if I bail, Bella might scalp me!" I said and Bella elbowed me again.

Yeah, that was how I kept the silence between father and daughter from making me want to pick Charlie's gun up and shoot myself in the face.

Around me the two silent saints were talkative, guess my latent – and slightly lazy – energy was contagious.

Of course, it wouldn't be Bella if she didn't ruin the five minutes of jokes I'd cracked. How...? By bringing in the Cullens of course...

I tuned out most of his angry protestations about how the people of this town something and how the Cullens were very good mannered – well of course they were, they probably had classes for that in their times – and I got up to watch the last few minutes of the game while working on my English homework.

The weekend passed without incident until Monday where a large event took place.

It snowed.

Now, I know it isn't that big of a deal but for me it was. I loved snow; it was a lot prettier than rain and a lot easier to have fun in.

"Ew, snow," there went my killjoy best friend. "You don't like snow?" Mike asked, coming up behind us. "It's all fun until it starts melting in your socks." She said.

"Well, there's a simple solution for that; don't wear loose socks and shoes," I said happily and high fived Mike as he suddenly stumbled forwards, his gelled hair dripping.

"Ooh, snap," I said as I watched Eric amble off.

"Hey, T, you want me to show you how to snowball fight?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Eric's retreating figure. "You bet I can take you both down," I scooped up some snow and lobbed it at Eric.

The aim was a little off so it missed his head but smacked right around his collar, making him look around to us.

"Hey, not cool," he yelled.

"Not cool enough? Here comes cool," Mike sent another which hit him straight in the face.

Within minutes there was a three way snowball fight in which guess what, we forgot lunch. "We'll do it again," he promised as we walked quickly to Biology, dripping snow behind us.

Chuckling slightly, we went off to our tables. Bella shook her head at me and I winked at her, shaking my hair at her. "Tulika, don't..." she pushed at me and I laughed with Mike as he shook his hair at her too. She swatted me away and I nearly slipped when I saw my table was not empty.

Holy gods...when did he get here? What day is it? Hang on, what century is it?

Clear your mind, you idiot, my brain yelled at me.

You are the mind, you clear yourself, I yelled back.

My mind immediately went slate clean as I walked slowly towards my desk and Mr. Wet and Dishevelled Cullen. Hmm, why did he have to be so sinfully good looking? I might as well break my rule and find myself a hot vampire. OK, I needed to slap myself later for that.

Now thinking these thought sort of messed up with my carefully arranged thoughts of the truck's gas mileage. I dropped into the seat and shook out my hair, unzipping my jacket and tossing it on the empty seat at the back.

I pulled up my shirt sleeves and used a pencil to wind up my hair up and back into a messy bun. A couple of guys gave me impressed looks as I leaned back and raised my eyebrows at them. They hurriedly turned back and I heard a distinct chuckle from beside me.

I turned and looked at him. Time to face the music, or a very good-looking bipolar vampire, whatever worked.

"The Prodigal returns, I see," I said and grinned at him.

He smiled back. "I had to take a short break; personal reasons," he said.

I mentally rolled my eyes, sorry Edward, your 'personal reasons' aren't as personal as you'd think if every hyped up teen in my world knows them, I thought while loudly humming the tune to Goosebumps.

I turned around to see Bella gazing at Edward with an interested look on her face and something in me stilled. Oh Bella, if only you knew the heavy duty stuff he'd bring to your life...

I quickly glanced at the boy next to me to see he was squinting lightly in my direction, no doubt trying to sift through my jumbled thoughts. Shouldn't he be more intrusive for Bella? Well, clearly, he finds you crazier...

 _Shut up brain..._

"Ok, boys and girls, let's go for the phases of mitosis. The slides are onion root tip cells, and out of order," Mr. Banner began the class and we turned around to look at him.

Oh right, the infamous biology class scene...now what the hell was the order in which the slides were in? Anaphase, Prophase...? No, no, Prophase, Anaphase...yeah, that's right.

"Get started," he said and I glanced around to see people shuffle towards the microscope while some just gaped at the slides. I saw Bella pull the microscope towards her with an almost smug look on her face and smirked a little. Seems like little Bella isn't so sweet and docile after all...

"Ladies first, partner?" I looked to Edward and blinked.

Now, when Bella described Edward's heart-stopping 'crooked' smile, I always pictured Rob doing a weird thing with his mouth. It wasn't my fault that Meyer always made the smile sound as if someone had taken a rock and smashed it up.

No, the smile adorning our own friendly vampire was definitely not broken and a long call from weird. It was more of a smirk, one side of his plump lips lifted to look arrogant and hot at the same time.

Um...Tulika, you're staring. Stop staring, you're not a staring kind of girl...you're stealing Bella's best performance stunt; my brain nudged me into motion.

"Or I could -," he began but I was already pulling the microscope towards me; my mouth rolling out a hasty line to make up for the previous bit of self embarrassment, not that Edward could tell the difference. To him I was probably just another of the staring idiots.

"Why, thank you, I'll be happy to start," I said, matching his polite and gentleman vocation easily.

What, I was a lady...I guess.

I snapped the slide in and glanced at it, feeling surprised that I actually managed to know what it was. Looks like Biology back at home was a good bet after all.

"Prophase," I said, and looked at him. "I supposed you want to check?" I asked. He looked surprised but took the object anyways, casting a glance briefer than mine at it. "You're right," he said.

I nodded and wrote it down on the worksheet, taking care to make my handwriting look nice, so it wouldn't look like a hieroglyph next to his.

He switched out the slide and looked at it, "Anaphase," he said and I copied that down as well, before handing him the sheet. I held out my hand for the slide and he handed it to me, his fingers brushing mine. We glanced at each other but didn't say anything. At least there wasn't any of that clichéd 'I felt a jolt at his touch' stuff. Guess this was even more real than I assumed.

This time when I looked at it, I was a little stumped. Back from studying home I was pretty sure it had to be Inter-phase or Metaphase but I wasn't completely sure. Ah well, looks like I'll be copying off Meyer...

"Inter-phase," I said and he jotted it down, nodding, this time not asking to check it.

I passed the microscope back to the centre of the counter and looked at Bella to see her smiling at me, giving me thumbs up. I rolled my eyes but returned it when her expression went flat, and she turned around quickly. I turned and looked to see Edward looking at her with an inexplicable frustration on his face. Oh, so he was bothered with the no entry sign above her head.

I sighed, putting my head down on the cool marble. Fighting a fated – or not as fated as forced down our throat – romance was getting tiring.

"So, Edward, you didn't think Tulika should get a shot at the slides?" I looked up to see Mr. Banner peering down at our worksheet. I stared at him. Seriously, I mean my writing was very different from his, couldn't he tell we'd both done the lab?

"Actually she recognized three of the five sir; here is what she wrote down," Edward put a fingertip at the answers I'd written. Oh god, he'd picked up on that thought; I have to do a better job shielding my mind. I mean, if Bella could do it, I definitely could. I returned my head to the counter top.

"So, where are you from?"

I looked up to see Edward's attention back on me. "Vadodara in Gujarat...India," I said.

He nodded. "I've been there, I'd like to visit again," he murmured then smiled. "So, what's a girl who's lived with the sun doing here in the rain?" he asked. I opened my mouth to make a joking reply but stopped. The way he had asked the question had pertained intensity, like he really wanted to know. My sarcasm would not help me here.

"It's...complicated," I muttered before mentally smacking myself. Ok, in my defense I was not quoting the novel. How else was I supposed to tell him I had fallen asleep in my own bed and woken up with Bella in Phoenix? I certainly couldn't describe it as 'Oh you know, I got bored, decided with a little change of scenery," yeah...I didn't think so.

"I think I can keep up," he pressed.

Unlike Bella, I didn't look at him or get confused with his golden eyes. I didn't even comment on the change of eye color. It was more surprising he had not commented on my not commenting on it. Did he really think I didn't notice?

I settled with running a nail over the marble edge. "I'm sure you can," I said finally, keeping it short.

There was a heavy pause and I looked at him. He was looking at Bella but as if he could feel my eyes on him, he turned his head, smiling slightly. "I feel like I just annoyed you," he admitted.

"If anything, I should be annoyed at myself." I said. "Why is that?" he asked. I shrugged then smirked. "For someone who's as good a people reader as you are, you sure seem frustrated."

If he heard the implication in my tone, he didn't acknowledge it. He just returned the smile, "On the contrary, you are very...difficult to read." His eyes bore into me as if he was trying to put extra effort in my head and like a switch; my mind went completely blank, revealing nothing.

He made an unsatisfied noise but even as the bell rang I was out of my seat, rushing out faster than him and heading straight to gym. Nothing burns tension like a good game of...whatever we were supposed to play today.

"So, what was up with you and Edward?" Bella asked me.

"Nothing," I said, sliding on my uniform.

"He seemed fine today," she said.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged.

I turned away from Bella's prying and walked to the gym where Bella, Mike and I teamed for volleyball. Mike and I chivalrously covered her but her woolgathering didn't seem any less than most days. I was fine with it.

That is until, of course, she thwacked me soundly on the head with the ball.

"Ow," I groaned as I flopped down into the seat of the truck.

"I'm so sorry, if you want to go to the nurse," Bella began but I cut her off.

"Bella you hit me with a volleyball; thank god we're not doing tennis or baseball, I hate to wonder what you could do with those," I pretended to shudder and she giggled.

"Maybe I should just chuck the bat at you," she said.

"Isabella Swan; I'll have you know the Chief will not take your subtle threats towards his beloved little girl kindly. I mean me, not you," I added and she rolled her eyes, pulling out of the parking lot.

I placed my head on the cool glass and caught Edward leaning against the silver door of his Volvo. By the way, his shoulders were shaking; it wasn't difficult to tell that he was sniggering.

*Edward still sniggering* Well then...?

*I glare at him* Do it, Sullen, or else...

*Edward raises his hand* Ok, Ok... *Putting his hands to the keyboard* So, my beautiful lovely readers...did you like it? Do you wish to read more of me and this little girl's interactions?

Please comment if we should continue...


	4. 3: Find a dead body & getting Homesick

3: I Get Homesick...After I find a Dead Body

 _*Bella blinks up at me as I push her into the chair*_ What am I supposed to do?

 _*I smile sweetly*_ Tell them who you belong to and who the others belong to.

 _*Bella turns to the Laptop*_ Um...Me and the original characters are to Mrs. Meyer and um...the others are to Tulika...? Is that good enough?

 _*I clap my hands*_ That's perfect. You heard the girl, lovelies...go ahead.

"Everybody...rock your body right!" I sang aloud as I danced around my bedroom in a plush robe I'd borrowed off Renee, throwing on clothes as I got ready to go to school. It wasn't a bother to Charlie or Bella, ok, Charlie wasn't even in the house to get bothered and Bella...well, she said she was used to it.

"Have you looked out the window today?"

I turned to see my best friend wearing a terrified expression on my face. "Yeah, it looks pretty, and no rain," I said, tying the laces to my combat boots and picking up my bag.

"Tulika, it's not pretty, it's disastrous. Can you imagine me walking on this?" she crossed over to the window, stumbling once on the turned up corner of my rug and giving me a look that said 'see what I mean', and pointed at the iced slick roads.

"I can hold your hand if you want," I offered and she smiled. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I'll take you down with me," she said.

It wasn't until we were out the door did I remember exactly what was going to happen today. Wasn't Tyler supposed to try to run over Bella today? Edward was supposed to save her. Oh man, maybe I just won't let her walk five centimeters away from me in the lot.

People all around us were walking with ginger steps as I got out of the cab before walking around to Bella's side.

A few lines over, I could spot the Cullens, engrossed in conversation. Edward's eyes flickered over to me but I ignored them and opened Bella's door, linking our arms together and walking to the gates. The faster she went in the safer she'd be.

"You are going to be good from here?" I asked as I stopped near the door to our first class.

"Yes, Tulika, if I need to be escorted around again, I'll call." She said sarcastically.

"I live to serve you, my lady." I replied and we laughed before heading into class.

The day passed normally. The only strange thing was that I didn't see Tyler at school at all. Maybe he took a sick day...? I mean, seeing as this wasn't a novel and somehow reality, it was completely normal to get sick, right?

I didn't pay it too much mind till it was time for Biology.

As usual, I was in my seat first and Edward came in wearing a ridiculously gorgeous smile on his equally glorious face.

"Hello, Tulika; how are you today?" he asked.

"Well, I'm slavering after a particularly clumsy girl who is simply that way because a woman decided to make her so but I am just peachy...what about you?" I grinned at his puzzled expression.

"I'm fine. Speaking of clumsy; where is Isabella?" he asked.

"Bella," I corrected automatically before looking around frowning, "I don't know, she was supposed to be here..." I bit my lip, worry beginning to pool inside me.

Oh god, did something happen to my harebrained, klutz of a best friend?

I'd kept a close eye on her the whole day; did she slip in the bathroom or something?

"Hey, I'm sure she's fine," Edward said, no doubt picking up on the worry in my mind. I nodded as Mr. Banner called us to attention. Oh dear, where are you, Bella? "Tulika, are you ok?" Edward asked, still fixated on me.

"No, I just..." I jumped when a girl walked into the room, holding a slip of paper in her hand. Mr. Banner took it and read it before looking up at the class, his eyes landing on me.

"Miss Mukherjee; it seems that you'll have to be leaving the class early." He said.

I stared at him. "Is something wrong, sir?" I asked.

"It's Miss Swan, she's taken ill during Lunch, and you will have to take her home. You should go. I'm sure Edward would help you and Miss Swan to cope with today's lesson." He continued.

I glanced at Edward who nodded to me.

I packed up my things. Ill, Bella was just ill, not injured or crushed under a van somewhere, I told myself sternly as I swung the bag up and left the classroom, ducking my head against the stares or the students and a particularly forceful gaze of a vampire.

I made sure to wipe my mind off as I hurried to the Office, slipping and sliding on the ice in my haste but managing to stay on my feet.

Bella was waiting for me in the front part of the office, leaning back on the folding chairs. I rushed to her.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"It's just a stomach ache, I don't think I'll be able to do gym," she said, bending slightly, clutching her stomach. "Oh..." I said and rocked back on my heels. "You want to go to a doctor?" I asked.

"And worry Charlie, I don't know," she said.

"Bella, how many times have I told you to stop trying to be a martyr?" I asked. She gave me a surprised look. "I don't think you've ever told me that." She said.

Ha, trust me honey, I've said that more times than I can count; in the real world, of course...

"Yeah, well, I'm telling you now. Miss Cope, can I take Bella home now?" I asked loudly and the clerk looked up, nodding before returning to her novel.

"Can you drive the truck?" she asked. "Sure, I can, I was supposed to bring Charlie some lunch today anyway; he forgot his box." I said.

She smiled as we linked arms to walk to the truck.

"You know, I think it's good that you came with me here," she said as I climbed into the driver's side.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know, I think Mom worries about me too much, she has you to talk to. Phil is entirely too...active for me and he likes spending time with you. Even Charlie seems to enjoy your company and you make this shift to Forks more bearable. You take care of me and I don't know how to tell you this, but you are very important to me," she said.

I looked at her. I knew Bella wasn't very expressive about her feelings. Maybe not when it came to Edward, then it nearly crossed into Purple but still, I appreciated it. Nothing gets your hopes up like a fictional character telling you that you mean something to them.

"You don't think I'm hijacking your life?" I asked.

"Why would I think that? This is your life. I mean if you started to cook or clean around the house more, I'd be a bit worried but..." she chuckled when I shoved her.

"Both hands on the wheel, young lady," she mocked me and I rolled my eyes. "Yes mom," I saluted.

The drive to the hospital was quiet after that.

Bella stared at out the window sometimes rubbing her stomach, probably too embarrassed about her sudden bout of emotions and I was too engrossed in keeping us alive. I was a fairly good driver but I was from India and the driving in America was the complete opposite of our Right Hand driving. Still, I managed to figure it out.

"Where do you think we should go?" Bella asked as I parked in the lot of the hospital and guided her inside. I made the mistake of dropping her arm to lock the truck and she nearly slipped just by _standing_. Jesus, what was with this girl?

"I don't know, Bells. You'd probably know more about hospitals." I said and turned to her. "Sit there," I pointed to the chairs and walked to the Front Desk.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Yes," the Blond receptionist looked up at me. "I have a friend with a stomach ache; who should we see?" I asked.

"Well, you could go to the first floor and see the general maladies doctors," she said and I smiled, nodding before going back to get Bella.

"Let's see who's willing to cure the elusive Chief's daughter," I said climbing up to the indicated floor.

"Tulika please shut up."

"Right," I said and walked to the first doctor I saw with his back to me, talking to a somewhat dazed looking nurse.

"Excuse me," I said with Bella tailing me and the doctor turned to look at me.

Um...wow...was the first thought that passed through my head as I stared... _I stared again_...at the doctor.

I seriously needed to stop that. "How may I help you?" he asked, one eyebrow quirked, likely at my less than intelligent face. "I...um...Bella," I shook my head when Bella nudged me slightly.

"I'm sorry," I said and managed a cringe worthy smile. This had to be Carlisle, pale, tall and a face that would make Zeus incredibly jealous.

"This is Bella; she has a stomach ache," I said and neatly shoved her over to him.

"Oh, you must be Chief Swan's daughter," he smiled and she nodded, fluttering slightly. Ok, let's get a grip on ourselves, shall we?

He led us into an interior office and motioned Bella to sit on a padded bed as I stood by the table.

"So, Isabella," he began.

"Bella," she immediately corrected. "Bella, how do you like Forks?" he asked. "It's like it always has been," she muttered as he checked her pulse and wrote down on a pin board. "I don't think you have stomach flu," he muttered and I looked at Bella.

"Will you be fine for a half hour or so? I'll just get Charlie his lunch or he'll want to know what's wrong." I told her. She nodded. "I'll be right back to get you. You'll take care of her, won't you, Dr. Cullen?" I asked. "Of course, Miss Mukherjee," he said.

A minute of implied meaning passed between us. I knew who he was and he knew who I was. Both completely meaningless things but we both knew they weren't coincidences.

I grabbed Charlie's favorite burgers and snacks from the Diner and drove carefully across to the Police Station. It was about a few streets away from the Station when I saw it. I first thought it was a broken down vehicle but as I inched closer to it I had to stop. Throwing the door open and clambering down to get a closer look, it was unmistakable as to what it was.

The navy blue van was on its roof, smoke billowing from the under of its fuel pipes, a few branches were scattered across its perimeter, probably from where it had crashed into the pine. I slowly walked towards it when I the dark pool formed around the open window. The radio was still playing, adding a cheerfully eerie aura to the gruesome scene in front of me.

I backed away on unsteady feet and finally slipped, landing on the ice but I didn't get up. Instead I stayed on the ground and pulled out the phone, dialing Charlie's number, my fingers fumbling on the dial pad.

He answered on the third ring.

 _I want a fried chicken sole with some caviar if that's what you called me for_. He said.

"Charlie..." I whispered and his tone immediately changed; becoming worried.

 _Tulika, what's wrong?_ He asked.

"There's...a crash...I...just found..." I muttered. God, I hoped that dark pool was oil...

 _Tulika, I need you to calm down. Tell me where you are and what do you see?_ He said soothingly. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves as my eyes darted around, looking for anything that might let him know where I was.

"There's trees, I don't really know, Charlie. I drove a few blocks from the Diner and I think I'm a few streets from the Station." I told him.

 _Ok, hang in there; we will be with you in ten seconds_. He said and I heard him yelling something before he hung up.

I must've sat there in the cold for about twenty seconds when two three cruisers rushed up, surrounding the carnage. "Tulika," I heard Charlie's shout before two hands wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me up.

"Sweetie," I nodded at Charlie to show that I was fine but he didn't seem very convinced.

"Did you call someone?" he asked the man who was leaning around the over turned van. "Yeah, they said they'll get an ambulance here five minutes tops." The man said.

"Do we know who it is?" Charlie asked, keeping a protective arm around my shoulders, rubbing it soothingly.

"It's...a little messy," the man said and I gulped. "I think I know who it is," I whispered.

Charlie looked at me with a frown and I pointed at the van. "That's Tyler's van," I said. "Tyler Crowley," I added.

"Check," he said curtly and the cop vanished, talking hurriedly into a cell.

"Tulika," I heard someone call again and I closed my eyes, watching Bella slip and stumble towards us. Charlie managed to catch her with one arm and she looked at me with concern.

"I heard Dr. Cullen talk to an officer, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, just...a little shock," I said, my voice cracking on the last word.

"Chief, Dr. Cullen's here for you," the man investigating the van said. Charlie turned and I saw Dr. Cullen standing back, near his sleek black Mercedes.

"Come on, T, let's get you out of here," he gently led us over to the doctor.

"Miss Mukherjee, are you ok?" he asked.

I nodded absently.

"Dr. Cullen, I was wondering if you could take the girls over to the hospital. Check Tulika for shock or something, while I sort stuff out here, won't take me long." Charlie said.

"Of course, Miss Mukherjee," he walked over to the passenger side and unlocked the doors. Bella and I slid in as he gave instructions to the EMTs and got in, glancing once at me before starting the car.

Carlisle flashed a penlight at my eyes as he peered closely at me.

"I don't suppose it would make any sense if I said I was not going into shock after all," I said dryly, watching his lips twitch slightly.

"You found a dead body! How could you not be going into shock?" Bella asked from the chair behind the curtain.

I considered my answer. I didn't have a repressive system like Bella, conveniently put there to pull off a hypothetical conversation. Still, I had to admit, I was putting up an act. I was shaken up; I would have to be a fool not to, but the horror of the day was wearing off. It was more the shock of finding out that something different from the book happened than actually finding Tyler like that. Truth be told, blood and gore didn't bother me all that much.

"I'm fine, Bella." I said quietly when another voice spoke up.

"What are you doing here?"

Carlisle glanced at me, noting my mortified expression and smiled, before pushing the curtain open.

Edward looked over at his father figure then zoned in on me. "Tulika, here I thought Bella was the one who was ill," his lips lifted into a smile.

"I was; Tulika just..." Bella trailed off, looking at me apprehensively.

"I found Tyler Crowley...dead in an accident." I said bluntly.

Edward's eyebrows rose and he glanced once at Carlisle, who gave an imperceptible nod. I caught it though; he must've said yes.

"Oh, well, I'm so sorry..." he muttered.

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. Why was he sorry? I was about to ask him when the door opened and Charlie walked in.

"Dr. Cullen, how are they?" he asked.

"Miss Mukherjee seems to be fine, although I would recommend a visit if you start panicking or get dizzy." He said, walking behind his desk and sitting down.

"Right...and you must be...?" Charlie looked at Edward. "Edward Cullen, sir," he shook hands with him and then Charlie looked at me.

"Come on, let's get you home," he said. Bella linked her arm with mine as he nodded uncomfortably. "You might want to call Renee and your mom." He muttered.

Bella and I both spun on him, "You told mom?" we asked.

He grunted.

"Great, she must be freaking out." I said, pulling out my phone and setting to business.

At home, after telling Renee and my mom that I was fine about 37 times – and yes, I counted – I settled into bed. It was surprising that my mom had not once made the suggestion that I come home. Pondering this was not doing any wonders for my head so I gladly let Bella and Charlie fuss over me.

Ok, more like Bella fussed over me. Charlie had turned an odd shade of puce and had spluttered a little at the dinner table. Seems like all his efficiency was centered on his job only, leaving him a flustered mess in his own house.

I didn't hold it against him.

I let Bella brush and braid my hair, and tuck me in; leaving the offer to join her in her bed open as she softly shut my door.

I sighed, staring at the ceiling fan, trying to count how my times the propellers went round.

It wasn't until midnight that the tears began.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Bella was supposed to be nearly crushed and Edward was supposed to save her, sparking her curiosity about the boy.

Did I cause this by keeping Bella safe? Was she actually meant to nearly die to keep Tyler safe?

I turned over and rubbed off my face before softly sobbing into my pillow.

I wanted to go home.

 _*Bella bites her lip as I wait for her*_ Um...Please comment us and let us know if you liked it and if we should continue... *She looks at me then whispers in your ear* Please...? The girl's really worked hard and I'd appreciate it.

 _*I look at you and her suspiciously*_ What are you telling them?

 _*You and her look at me*_ Just how pretty and awesome our readers are.

:) :) :) YOU READERS REALLY ARE AWESOME!

Please Comment Your Thoughts and Suggestions


	5. 4: Invitations and Cold Shoulders

4: Bella gets an invitation and I get a cold shoulder

* * *

*Alice runs over to you and hugs you* There you are! Do all your readers smell this good?*

*I cringe* Alice, back to business.

*Alice dances over to the laptop* Alright, here you are my lovelies, new chapter!

* * *

Special shout out to my first ever reviewers: inuyashademons14 & Irokoutlol1

You guys are awesome and thanks for taking time to make note of this story. You will always hold this special place in my Writing Path.

* * *

The weeks after that one incident were downright depressing.

After the first night of pathetic sobbing on my part and no help from the universe, I'd still woken up under the overly warm covers in the Twilight world.

Bella had hovered incessantly for the first few days, acting as if I was going to have a fit any second. Charlie was still behaving like a kicked Rottweiler, all bowed down and…well kicked. Besides, that was just at the house.

School was nearly impossible.

People flocked to me. People; I had no idea who they were asked me exactly how I'd found Tyler's body. You'd think they would have some courtesy to spare me the grisly detail reliving but nope, they interrogated me like I was a suspect in some third degree cheesy cop show.

 _Tulika, was he hurt much?_

 _Do you think he suffered?_

 _Was the van salvageable?_

 _Can you sign this shirt saying RIP Tyler?_

Ok, maybe one of them was not actually asked but I'll leave that for you to figure out.

Another strange thing was that Edward was suddenly being very odd towards me. Ok, he was always odd but now he was being downright cold.

I'd barely sat down beside him the first day and said a feeble 'hey' and he'd actually turned his face completely away, looking distinctly sick. Ah, if only vampires could get sick, I might've let him off the hook. After looking at him surprised, I'd turned the other way too and that had been the last we'd actually talked.

Nowadays he seemed overly focused on Bella.

Lunch passes with me mostly squashed between Jessica and Bella or Angela and Bella. Normally I'd have sat with my back to the Cullens but it seemed that both Bella and Jessica had a distinct urge to sit facing them. I would quietly eat, making conversation with Angela while Edward and Bella made goo-goo eyes at each other…I think, I never really saw that happen.

Lauren had drastically mellowed down and I found myself walking by mostly with her and Angela, leaving Bella to the mercy of Jessica, Eric and Mike. She didn't seem to mind, even though I caught her giving me worried looks at home.

It wasn't until a chain of tests were announced at school, when I realized that a full month had passed by.

I had gaped at the calendar in my phone in dawning horror.

How could this _happen_? How could a _month_ go by and I not notice? How could I _let_ this happen?

I would've liked to say that I pulled up my socks after that. Sadly, no, if anything I became more languished. And by languished I mean I became more zealous in going with the flow. You would be surprised but I'd already decided that doing nothing would get me back home so I decided to give it one more week.

To Bella's surprise, I completely backed off.

This was Bella's story. I had promised myself to 'go with the flow' and by trying to keep Bella away from Edward, I'd been doing the exact opposite. So I let her be her own glorious self and left her to it while I practically joined the nunnery.

It didn't seem to faze Jessica somehow as she jovially announced another event looking us in the face. The spring dance which happened to be a girl's choice, not that we were going to be having much choice in the matter if the book was anything to go by.

She insisted I ask someone and I didn't have to be a mind reader to know she was trying to indicate a certain Cullen.

I jokingly mentioned this to Bella who turned an odd shade of blue. "You know I can't dance!" she huffed. "I'm sure he can, besides all you've done is staring at each other for ages," I reasoned.

She blushed, of course, Bella Swan can blush enough for an entire range of newly wedded brides and I took my cue to leave.

The next day, Jess seemed to have lost her own bit of shine.

"Jessica," I asked softly in Trigonometry, looking over at her. "Yeah," she said. "Are you ok?" I asked, feeling dumb. Obviously, she wasn't fine.

"Yeah, I'm great," she said, biting her lip as she smiled softly at me then ducked her head.

I didn't pry.

After Trigonometry, it turned out our loving Bio professor had a little bit of a held up at home so Biology was free and I decided to check out the library, a practice I religiously held onto. Ok, more like I clung to it like a koala bear but we all have our quirks.

I left Bella with our lunch group while I went up and introduced myself to the librarian, a tall freakily thin guy named Sorenson. I idly wondered how he managed to carry heavy books, not that this library had much to offer. I slowly roamed the aisles, looking around for something good when I saw Mike.

"Hey," he said, leaning against a bookshelf.

"Hi, what's up?" I asked.

"Just browsing," he said glumly, looking over my head when I felt the pang of unease. Jessica's mood and now Mike's meant only one thing, she'd asked him and he'd turned her down for Bella.

"That's great, here, walk me," I said lightly, trying to distract him and handed him my two Agatha Christies. He nodded and began leading the way out.

"Great, looks like Cullen's stalking you." He said when we emerged near the reception desk. "What do you mean…?" I trailed off when I saw the tall lean back and next to it, the willowy dark headed girl. Hmm, that must be Alice…

I carefully wiped all thought from my mind and saw his back stiffen.

"…and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to ask me…"

I turned to Mike. "Huh?" I asked.

"I said that Jessica asked me to the dance but if maybe you…or Bella wanted to ask me…" he trailed off again.

I glanced around wildly for a solution. I was pretty damn certain that Bella would run me over if she found out I'd told Mike to personally ask her. She was not good with confrontations so I invented along the way. "Mike…that is not possible," I said.

His face fell but my eyes were already drifting to the pair at the table. Sorenson was nowhere in sight so maybe they were waiting for him but Edward's head was tilted towards the girl and she was muttering something.

"Why not?" he demanded and I turned back to him. "Oh, err…Bella…I, we are going to Seattle," I blurted out. That's what happened, right? In the book, Bella did say Seattle, or was it Washington? Well, too late now.

"You can't go sometime else?" he pressed on and I frowned. "It's important. It was planned even before they announced the dance." I said before quickly adding. "You should say yes to Jessica. She might find someone else and leave you hanging." I warned.

The prospect didn't seem very appealing to Mike so he quickly beat it.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my gaze back to the vampires to see Alice gone and Edward facing me.

Oh, holy black eyes…

"Not the smoothest liar, are you?" He asked quietly.

I quelled my urge to snort at that. While he may be able to read my mind, he had no idea just how much I was keeping back from him and also just how good a liar I really was. Mike just happened to catch me by surprise. He was supposed to ask Bella to the dance and if he had, she would've told me.

My face must've twisted slightly since he raised his eyebrow. Damn, wish I could do that.

I saw Sorenson slip back into the reception and Edward moved to the desk to get his books checked out. I glanced at the Christies in my hand then back up, biting my lip. I had already read these two and I really saw no reason to dawdle with Ice Prince over there but if I left, it would be like running away.

Ah, what the hell…

I moved forward and roughly thrust the books in Sorenson's bony hands, he raised an eyebrow but mercifully scanned the barcodes and handed them back.

When he was finished, I made a quick turn and made to beat it. I'd reached the doors when he caught up with me. "Are you practicing sprinting for the Olympics?" he asked, cheerfully enough.

I shot him a sideway glance. Why was he being friendly? He'd avoided me like the plague for a month, not that I minded, all the high school tests had rather kept me busy, but now he was hanging by me as if none of it happened.

"No, I just want to get back." I said, as politely as I could.

"Listen, I know we haven't been the friendliest -," he began and I stopped to gape at him. "We…? What we…? _You_ were the one who stopped talking to me," I said, frowning. He stopped too. "You never tried to talk to me either." He pointed out.

Ok, so I hadn't…but still, he was the one who cut off. I didn't even know the guy…no pun intended, plus I wasn't all too keen to chat up a 100 over white glitter rod.

"Well, we were doing fine for a month, why are you talking to me now?" I demanded.

"I thought we were friends," he said lightly. I nearly laughed. Wow, the heartthrob of my world thinks we're friends. "You clearly did not consider me worthy of your greatness a month ago." I said.

"I had things on my mind." He said, coldly, beginning to lose his patience. "Yes, my best friend," I said snidely. His eyebrows shot up again and I could almost hear his male ego clogs roving.

No talking leads to best friend attention to…obvious conclusion: Jealousy! I let him hear that thought.

"Don't even try to think it," I warned. "I wasn't thinking anything. I was just wondering why you were being so hostile." He said.

That cut me off. Why was I being so violent towards him?

Maybe because he's a creep who stalks your best friend and watches her sleep? Yeah, but I'm not supposed to know that. Well, you do, so there.

I kept my mental conversation cloaked while shrugging.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out." I said and turned around, walking away hurriedly.

I contemplated calling Bella to tell her that I'd be in the truck but goody two shoes must have her cell off. I called Angela instead and told her to pass on the news.

While crossing the lot, I had a sudden memory of the book as I watched early students file out. Wasn't Eric going to ask Bella…or me…to the dance? Chances were Bella was cornered by now or he was waiting for me in the lot. Well, better not risk it.

I tiptoed past the silver car and ducked behind the white hatchback, peering over it. Sure enough, Eric walked out, looking around the lot as if looking for someone. I saw him walk around the truck a little until Bella walked out. He smiled and waved at her but didn't say anything as she paused, looking around for me.

Good, coast clear…

I jumped out and rushed over, pulling the door open and jumping in.

"Drive woman, before another testosterone pumped boy wants out attention." I said. Bella got in with a sardonic smile. "You too, huh, just so you know, even if I was born with two left feet doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the dance." She said as she pulled out of the school.

"Are you kidding me? I either go with you or not at all." I said and looked at the window.

"Tulika…" she began and I could just tell she was going to give me an 'I'm worried about you,' speech so I cut her off.

"I told Mike that we're going to Seattle during the spring dance." I told her. She nodded brightly. "I said the same. He looked down." She agreed as she pulled into our driveway.

That night, Bella decided to make the usual spaghetti dinner. I figured that since Edward hadn't irritated her enough to go all out with food just to distract her, we wouldn't be having Mexican.

"Can't we make Chicken Enchiladas?" I asked, attempting to pout.

She gave me a wide eyed look. "Enchiladas…? You want enchiladas?" she asked. "Yeah, come on, I'll help you." I hopped off the counter when the phone rang. She rolled her eyes. "Go take the call; I'll get the stuff out." She said.

I pulled the phone off the hook and pushed it under my ear, trapping it with my shoulder.

"The Swan Residence," I said in a butler-like voice.

"T, hey, guess what happened today! Mike said he'd go to the dance with me!" Jessica nearly deafened my left ear. "Oh, that's great; you and Mike would look great together." I told her and made a motion of a knife at my throat to Bella. She smirked, chopping chilies and onions in a pan while I celebrated with Jess some more.

"So, who did you ask?" she asked.

"No one, Bella and I are going to Seattle that day." I said.

"Oh, but if you change your mind, let me know." She said and hung up.

Bella and I talked about a few things as we cooked together, her dicing the chicken and me frying the vegetables. I suddenly thought how strange my life had become.

Here I was, having a conversation with one of the most beloved fictional characters of the 21st century and I hadn't even liked her. Well, that was before I met her. I was also beyond irritated by another character and if anyone from my world found out, I'd be a dead girl walking. How dare I be rude to the high and mighty Edward Cullen? Well, Cullen could go and –

"Are you listening to me?" I jerked and looked at Bella.

"Yes…no, sorry, I was a little preoccupied, what did you say?" I asked.

"I'm saying that we should tell Charlie about going to Seattle." She said. "Oh right," I tilted my head as I heard Charlie open the front door and come in.

"Why don't you go do that while I set the table?" I asked.

She nodded and walked off into the living room.

The next morning, I made Bella park right at the back of the parking lot. She looked amused as I searched the parking lot. Just because Eric had missed his chance yesterday didn't mean he could be put off again.

"He's not here," she coaxed as I trailed after her. "You never know," I said and stumbled as the heel of my boot caught into a small hole. Yes, I was wearing heeled boots in Forks. I was short and I needed the extra height.

I grabbed at the side mirror of the nearest car but the book I was holding fell out of my hand. I lunged after it before it could hit the puddle but another hand was there, white and quick, saving it just at the surface of the water.

I straightened up and as I expected Edward loomed over me, watching me with an unreadable expression.

"Easy there, clumsy," Bella called teasingly and glanced shyly at Edward. I nearly rolled my eyes. Hark, who talks…

"Thanks, nice save," I said. I wasn't really going to pretend I was surprised by his mysterious appearances. I knew exactly how he did it. He nodded and handed me the book back. "I suppose you have not yet figured out your reasons for being mad at me," he said, leaning against the car.

I smirked. "You're right, I haven't," I said.

The answering smirk was much better than mine. "May I ask why you were creeping around the parking lot yesterday?" he asked. My eyes widened. "You saw that?" I asked, feeling heat creep up into my cheeks.

I didn't embarrass easy, but the idea of this guy watching me prowling the lot like an idiot was enough to make me blush. "Hard not to, you weren't being all that inconspicuous. You would make a terrible spy," he mocked.

I glared at him and swiveled away, walking off from the 'greatest love story of 21th century'.

"Tulika, he was just joking…" I heard Bella come after me.

"I didn't mean to be rude," I heard him say. Why was he following me?

I spun around to face them. "I think I kind of liked you when you were ignoring me," I said, furiously. He actually had the audacity to roll his eyes at me. I so badly wanted to hit him but I knew it'd just hurt me. He turned his head to look at Bella.

"I was wondering if you girls needed a ride to Seattle." He said.

Bella looked surprised while I just crossed my arms. I already knew he was going to ask her that. "With who," Bella asked. "Whom," I corrected automatically.

They both ignored me, looking into each other's eyes. "With me, of course," he said.

"The truck works just fine." I gritted out.

I was ignored again.

"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked his voice intent.

I knew I was being childish but I actually made a 'humph' sound when Bella nodded.

His eyes flickered to me triumphantly and he smiled briefly. "I'll see you in class."

Turning away, he walked off.

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	6. 5: Quality Time with a Bipolar Vampire

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The conversation with Glitter Guy made me and Bella 10 minutes late to English. Mr. Mason looked up at us when we entered and sighed. "Nice of you to join us," he said disparagingly.

We made our way to our seats and it wasn't until the end of the class that Eric sought me out.

"Hey, T," he called and Bella gave me a sympathetic smile before hurrying away. Traitorous Traitor…

"Yeah," I said. "I missed you yesterday. I heard you're off to Seattle the Spring Dance day?" he asked. I breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Yes, it's important." I said, winding a strand of my hair around my finger.

"Too bad, but you're still on for prom?" he asked.

"Oh, I um…" I trailed off but Eric didn't seem to want an answer any way. "Cool, I'll see you later," he said and walked off.

I squinted after him suspiciously.

At lunch, I knew Edward was going to ask Bella to sit with him so I didn't pay much attention when Bella stood up from her seat, looking flustered and nearly sprinted to sit with him. I sighed, shaking my head. How predictable…

"How are you about that?"

I turned to look at Angela to see her glancing covertly at Bella and Edward.

"Why would I think anything of it?" I asked. "Well, because Jess very clearly pronounced that Edward is 'into' you." She raised her fingers to mark quotations in the air.

I didn't know what I expected. Maybe that he was the local weirdo and shouldn't I be more concerned for my klutz of a best friend, but this? I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

Everyone at the table and a few tables around turned to look at my loud and slightly obnoxious laughter. I had tears in my eyes as I slapped the table.

"Ah, Weber, here I thought you couldn't joke!" I cried.

"I wasn't joking." Angela muttered which only made me laugh harder.

I mean come on, in which sane universe would Gill Glitter fall for me? I would probably annoy him to the point of no return and he would freak me out to the point that I would take a flame thrower to his pretty face. The image only made me put my head against the table, choking on my breath.

It wasn't until Lauren and Angela dragged me off with Mike trailing after us that I calmed down. I was very aware of burning gazes at my back but I didn't turn back around.

"What was all that about? Did you spray her with laughing gas?" Mike asked as we climbed up the stairs.

I rolled my eyes, very much sober now. "Christ Newton, relax, I just laughed at a joke that's all." I said. "Yes, well, it looked like you were drunk or something…" he mumbled. I couldn't help but roll my eyes again.

All of a sudden there was a loud screech from upstairs and we all looked up to see Coach Clapp looking at us horrified while a huge trolley headed straight down the stairs, right at me.

I surged out of the way and felt a searing pain in my foot as the trolley smashed into my leg.

I screamed; a loud and piercing noise as I fell on my side, holding my ankle.

"Oh my god; Tulika, are you ok?" I heard Mike yell. "Of course, she's not ok, moron, she needs a doctor!" that was Lauren. I felt a hand on my shoulder and Angela's soothing voice in my ear.

"It's ok, it is ok, come on," she pulled me up gingerly and I winced, my eyes streaming to see an angry red gash in my jeans leg.

"Here, I'll take her to the nurse, you tell Banner." Mike said and wrapped an arm around my waist; letting me lean on him as he walked or rather hopped me down the stairs.

You idiot, I thought, furiously, you're making me jump on my injured leg. He moved me downstairs as the students started to exit the cafeteria. "Tulika, what happened to her?" I heard the panicked voice of Bella, Jess and Eric. "She just had a run in with a sports trolley," Mike said, sounding way too enthused about my 'run in'.

Hang on; wasn't Bella supposed to faint at the sight of blood? I looked up quickly to see Bella swallow; her eyes on my foot where I could feel my jeans dampen with my blood.

"Oh no, Bella get away from here…please, Mike move!" I ordered and he swiftly shuffled me away from the group.

I bit my lip though as he maneuvered me onto the cold sidewalk, connecting the school to the office.

"Hey, you ok? Your leg's looking really bad." Mike said. I ignored him.

"Tulika, wow, that's a lot of blood…"

"Hey, don't faint on me…"

"Tulika…you're turning pale…"

I snapped and gave him a baleful look. "Mike, do me a favor and let me sit for a while?" I gritted out. He nodded and let me down on the cold bricks, lining the pathway. Ah…I pressed my burning leg to the cool stones and closed my eyes. It probably wasn't the most hygienic things to do but I really had no energy to hobble to the office and ask for an ice pack. This would have to do…

"Tulika…"

Just as I was about to tell him to shut up another voice called. "Tulika…?"

God, please, please, let me be imagining that voice. Let my mind be so dazed with blood loss that I was imagining him. It made absolute no sense that I would be hallucinating about him. I mean, why Edward when I could make up Paul Wesley?

"What's wrong…?" I heard him trail off when I remembered the blood. Oh damn…

I waited for the lunging blow, Mike's terrified screams, anything…but nothing happened. I looked up to see Edward looking rather sick himself as he faced Mike. "How did she get hurt?" he asked. What was he doing? Shouldn't he be getting antsy and dreadful about the blood?

"Trolley ran her over." Mike said in a tight voice. Guess he wasn't so enthused about my injury now that Cullen showed up. He nodded and moved to me. I flinched. "Can you hear me, Tulika?" he asked.

Of course, I can hear you, fool, I hurt my leg, not my ears, I thought.

He chuckled. Good, he heard that then, maybe it'll teach him not to behave so superior all the time.

"I should really take her to the nurse." Mike urged, inching closer to me. "You can go back to class. I'll take her." He said smoothly.

"No," I said, looking up at him. _Why_ was he doing this? My first thought was that maybe he was going to take me somewhere secluded and feed from me and I shrunk back from him.

"Tulika, don't be stubborn," he said. "Go away, Edward," I said. Come on, Mike, try to stake some chauvinistically juvenile claim here.

Without warning, the cold bricks vanished from under me. My eyes and mouth both flew open as Edward swung me up effortlessly into his arms. My leg jostled and I bit my lip to hold a whimper. He began walking off easily with Mike lagging behind. "Hey, you can't do that!" he called.

He already did, I thought grimly, gripping the back of his jacket, as the move of his body hitched me around. He was holding me lightly, and while I doubted he was going to drop me I didn't loosen my hold on him.

"You didn't need to do that." I said through my teeth. Talking would distract me from the pain.

"If I didn't; Newton was certain to let you bleed out on the sideway." He said cheerfully. He was _enjoying_ this.

I looked at him. "About that, aren't you supposed to get all messed up around blood?" I asked. He slowed as he looked at me cautiously. "Why would you say that?" he asked quietly. I met his gaze steadily but didn't answer and he didn't press.

He paused a moment and kicked the office door open, gently swinging me in first before letting the door shut.

I looked at the reception to see Mrs. Cope stand up. "Oh dear," she glanced at my jeans then hurried to open the back door as Edward without breaking stride carried me through and set me down gently on the vinyl mattress.

The nurse hurried towards me. "Oh my, what happened sweetheart?" she asked as she examined my ruined outfit.

"Coach Clapp decided to let his sports trolley chase her down the staircase." Edward said. I nodded, not even bothering to ask how he knew. He probably picked it right out of Mike's unguarded mind.

"Mr. Cullen, could you hand me that scissors?" she asked.

She cut into my jean leg carefully and ripped it the rest of the way. "Hmm, you're lucky, it won't need stitches." She said. "Are you sure? I mean, I have a high threshold for pain and this really hurts," I said.

"That's because you have also sprained your ankle. I'll clean the cut and wrap it up, put it in a brace. Give it some rest and you should be back to normal by Monday. Don't jostle or walk on it too much." She advised and left the room.

I groaned and dropped back on the cot.

"Why are you still here?" I asked. "I really have nowhere else to be," He answered.

I looked at him. He was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, eyes on me. "You scared me for a minute there," he began and I remembered the line. "You thought Mike was dragging my body off to the woods to bury it." I finished. He raised an eyebrow.

"Mike absolutely loathes you, doesn't he?" I asked.

"He does, now, here you always say how Bella is the clumsy one but I have yet to find her in a cumbersome situation." He said. I laughed bitterly. "Ah, Cullen, if only you knew," I mumbled, my vision tunneling as the nurse returned.

She placed a bowl of some pleasant smelling ointment on the side table and a wad of cotton balls. She dabbed the liquid on my leg and I bit my lip to keep from hissing at the sting. She cleaned the cut and I saw that it was a relatively shallow cut even though it was pretty long, probably the length of a 15 cm ruler, running from the upper part of my calf to the top of my toes.

Placing some thick cotton pads on it, she wrapped yards of bandaging cloth on it, and then strapped a blue colored brace on it, fixing the Velcro to fit my foot.

"Here," she handed me a cold compress, "Keep that on your leg, it should help with the pain." She said.

"Thank you so much," I said. She nodded and exited again.

"How did you see me?" I asked as the door swung shut. He shrugged. "I didn't feel like going to class today, I was in my car." He said. "Oh right, the blood typing," I guessed. He frowned. "You seem to know a lot," he said.

I smiled mischievously, "So do you," I pointed out.

He grinned at that when I groaned again. "You said you wanted to see Bella in a cumbersome situation? Well, she faints at the sight of blood. Just about count to ten," I said.

He rolled his eyes then his eyes fixed on the leg. "Why did you say that I would freak out at the sight of blood?" he asked. "Well, you just seem like the kind of guy who's all talk but really a wimp," I said. "Tulika," His tone made it clear I wasn't going to escape it with my sass.

I felt like banging my head. Why, oh why did I have to have such a big mouth?

I was saved by the door opening and Mike leading in Lee Stephens, didn't Bella faint in class? I scooted back as Mike led him to the cot then looked gloomily at me.

"Where's Bella, Mike?" I asked.

"Gym, she already knows her blood type," he said then glanced at Edward. "Mr. Newton, please clear the room," the nurse bustled in and Mike grimaced.

"Mrs. Wainscot, I think I should take Tulika home now. Her leg really needs some rest," Edward said.

I quickly glanced at him then Mike to see him glaring at Edward. Ok, so maybe the boy did loathe the vampire…

"You know the beach trip's still on right? For…Tyler, he'd want us to do it. We're having a tribute to him and all." Mike said, his voice breaking at the end of the sentence. My smile faded as unbidden the image of the horrifying wreckage hit my brain like bricks. "Yes, I know, Lauren told me but I can't, not with this leg." I said, quietly, my earlier mood mellowed.

Too bad I won't be able to meet Jacob. I really liked him till the stunt he pulled in Eclipse. Mike looked ready to protest but a movement caught my eye.

I hadn't noticed Edward come up towards me till he was hovering over us. "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?" he asked.

I glared at him. "Can you not be a little original please?" I asked, remembering a beat later that this was original for him. I just knew what he was going to be saying.

Mike helped me down from the cot and almost nearly led me out of the office before with an exasperated sigh; Edward had scooped me back up.

Without another word he carried me out the office.

"Really, I hope Newton is not intending to become a doctor. Half the patients on his tab would die." He grumbled. I crossed my arms, now certain that he was not about to drop me just for the fun of it.

"Thanks," I said my hair running as I hadn't had time to pull my hood up.

"Anytime," he said, squinting forward. "You still have not answered my question," he pointed out. "Is there a point to it? Perhaps I should've let Mike make me walk," I grinned up at him, the rain going into my eyes, making me blink.

He smirked at me. "Let's not push Mike further this week. We don't want him to snap, do we?" he asked almost playfully.

We reached the beloved Volvo which made the hearts of so many teenage girls run and he gently put me down. "It's open," he said and got into the driver's seat. I slowly lowered myself in the seat.

"I'm going to get the seats wet," I said apologetically.

Despite the vampires' entire set of not so nice qualities, their sense of style and choice of wheels was very impressive. If anything, I would be friends with them just to get to drive one of these.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered.

"It really is a beautiful car," I sighed, looking around appreciatively. "What model is it exactly?" Meyer never made that clear.

He glanced at me as he turned on the car, his lips quirking up. "It's an S60R," he said. Turning on the heater, he lowered the music volume. "You like cars?" he asked, pulling out of the school property, one hand on the gear shift and one on the wheel.

"Mm hmm," I said, resting my head back as the soothing piano music filled the cars.

"Do you have one – in India?" he asked.

"India is more of a two-wheeler haven. I know how to drive obviously but I just took my parent's cars. I had a Pleasure model," I told him.

He nodded.

I turned my head to look out the window as gray and green blurred past us, giving away the speed with which he drove. I didn't have a problem with it. I liked speed with responsibility and my best bet at that combination was a vampire driver.

I turned my attention back to the music and smiled.

He really is a good musician…I thought and Edward glanced at me again. Darn, looks like I forgot to block my mind.

"You like it?" he asked. I nodded. "I have listened to Clair de Lune before, a…sort of hype hit back home but I don't like to follow mindless trends," I said.

His lips twitched. "No, I don't think you do," he said. The tempo was already making me sleepy so I closed my eyes.

"Why did you come here, Tulika?" he asked. I opened my eyes. His face was frustrated as if some deeper mystery was bugging him. Well, truth be told, the mystery of my arrival here was bugging me too.

"I can't really answer that." I said truthfully while carefully erasing my mind making him look at me with the same frustration. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Seventeen," I said.

"You seem a lot younger than that – barely fourteen," he said. I cringed inwardly. "If that is a dig at my height," I began but he shook his head smiling. "It's not, you seem very rash for a seventeen year old teenager but then you almost seem wise beyond your years," he murmured.

"Thanks, The Wise Old Owl," I drawled and he grinned.

"Tell me about your parents," he said. I paused. This was really starting to sound like one of his interrogations from the book. Not to mention, I didn't know if I was all too comfortable spilling my life to an absolute stranger. Ok, maybe he wasn't a complete stranger; I probably knew more about him than he did himself but it was the principle of the thing.

"Sorry, Edward, but you're just going to have to wait to peruse my life story," I teased.

He didn't look satisfied. "Tell me about your family, I'm sure it's much more interesting than mine," I said, trying to keep my laughter in check.

"Why would I tell you anything about my family when you won't tell me about yours?" he countered.

Touché…

"You're right, but I've already met Carlisle and I think he's really nice." I said. He nodded thoughtfully.

"We're here," he said.

I looked up to see Charlie's House in front of us. "Do you need me to take you inside?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. "It's a stupid sprain, Cullen. I think I can handle it," I said.

"I'll see you later then," he said.

"Hmm, I'll have to wait for the damn plaster to come off," I said gloomily. Sighing, I opened the door when I remembered something. Ah, me and my extensive memory powers…

"Have fun camping with Emmett," I said. I didn't turn back to look at his expression but he called me back. I looked at him. He looked at me curiously then his lips quirked up as if he was trying to fight off a smile.

"Will you do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is," I said.

"I don't know what you're planning for the weekend but try not to fall, trip or let something run you over, please?" he asked.

I chewed my bottom lip assessing him. "Hmm, that sounds like a simple enough favor," I said. I got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

The wheels whirred on the wet concrete and I watched him drive off.

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	7. 6:Meetings,stories & poorly kept secrets

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I dragged myself into the house and flopped on the couch, completely exhausted. I so badly wanted to go to sleep but I knew that if I fell asleep on the couch with wet clothes on, I'd be nagged and I'd catch pneumonia.

Hobbling up the stairs, I shed off my clothes then took a hot shower with my left leg handing out. Pulling on warm sweats, I fell into bed and dialed my mother.

 _The number you're calling is busy…_

I sighed, what could she possibly be doing that made her so busy? Not seeing another way out, I called Renee. "Tulika, honey, how are you?" she answered.

I sighed, happy to hear a motherly voice, mine or someone else's.

"I have a brace around my leg, Renee. A trolley ran me over." I told her then gave her a brief rundown of the incident. By the end of it, I could tell she was shaking her head. "I don't know which one of you is clumsier," she said.

"Hey, at least I'm not accident prone," I said.

"There's that," she said and I heard the front door open and close.

"Renee, I think Bella's home, talk to you later." I said. "Sure sweetie, and tell her to call me back please." I said ok and hung up just as Bella opened the door.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked, dropping her bag on my desk chair and sitting on the bed.

I pulled my busted leg up and showed her the brace. "I'm supposed to take it easy for the day." I told her. She nodded. "The nurse called me to the office and told me to tell you to take tomorrow off. She said if you work it too much you could tear the ligaments or worse and to take something for the pain." She said.

I fell back on the bed.

"I'm not really one to hustle with meds, Bell," I told her.

"It's going to help you." She stood up and walked out before returning with a glass of water and two pills. "Tylenol, go on," she told me.

I obeyed and let the two pills knock me out.

When I woke up, the windows were dark. I turned and looked at the shiny digits in my phone showing the time. It was , I pulled the covers back over my head. Might as well go back to sleep now.

The next morning, Charlie came over to check on me.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you? Bella told me to look after you," he said. "No Charlie, really, I'm just going to be here and Bella set me up with a private restaurant and all." I pointed to the chest of drawers.

Every inch of it was covered in snacks. Crackers, spice sticks, chocolate pastries lined the front with a bottle of water and juice behind it; Efforts of Bella to make me comfortable before going to school. Seriously, I was beginning to love this girl.

"If you need me call, ok?" he asked, chuckling.

I nodded as he left.

I spent the entire day catching up with homework, studies and laundry although I had to use one of the extra metal rods in the linen cupboard as a crutch.

I finished eating and stuffed the rest of the food back in the pantry and watched some Cable till Bella came home.

At dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about the La Push trip.

Bell seemed less so and looked at me. "Can't you please come? I really don't want to go alone." She said. I shook my head. "Nope, I don't want to risk the leg, besides you need to be seen out without me you know." I told her.

She didn't seem to think it was a good idea at all but Charlie backed me up.

"She's right, kid, you need to move about more and Tulika needs to have some rest. Tell you what, I'll try to take the early time out and look at her, that way you don't have to be so strung up about her." He said.

I nodded and Bella sighed, giving in.

Bright light woke me up on Saturday. Sitting up, I smiled at the yellow light flooding my room and I fell back asleep contentedly until Bella woke me up again.

She was wearing hiking boots, jeans and a thermal shirt. "Can I borrow your green jacket?" she asked. I nodded absently as she rummaged in the small wardrobe and shrugged it on before starting to braid her hair.

"So, tell me, how did it go with Edward? Did you annoy him more?" she asked.

I squinted up at her with one open eye. "Are you jealous, Swan?" I asked.

She laughed.

"No, I just think he's taken by you." She said. I sat up. "Say what?" I asked. "Oh you know he called me over at lunch and most of the time he asked me where you came from. I told him about the whole problem back at home but I couldn't really tell him what it was." She said.

I frowned.

"What problem back at home, Bella?" I asked. She shrugged. "Like I said, we don't really know. It's between Renee and your mom." She said.

She tied off the braid and waved before leaving.

I waited for the tell tale slam of the front door and the roar of Bella's truck driving off before I picked up my phone dialing my mom.

The familiar dial tone went before the woman on the caller said the number is switched off. I put the phone to my lip and began chewing at the plastic cover.

What was this problem that Bella had talked about?

I didn't remember any such problem that would force my mother or father to shove me off across the continents to some obscure friends.

I lugged my leg downstairs where I stared out the window.

I really needed to get back home but how to do it…? The going with the flow plan didn't seem to be working and in my long time of collecting information about tons of supernatural and paranormal phenomena, I had never heard of one where an individual was transported to a book world.

I headed to the pantry to pull out some spaghetti and sauce and began cooking me lunch. A glance at the clock told me it was nearly 12, so I pushed and pushed the food till I had a decadent lunch at near 2 in the afternoon.

Setting the table, I sighed, wishing I was in Vadodara so I could grab something quick from one of the stores but no deal. I ate and washed up while still trying to come up with various wild theories about getting home.

Uh, all of this was giving me a headache.

Climbing back upstairs, I let myself into Bella's room, looking through her books to find her set of Austen works.

I had nearly picked it up when the sound of the front door opening startled me.

"Tulika," Charlie called.

"Charlie…?" I asked, descending the stairs to find him standing in the hallway, undoing his work belt.

"Hey, I ran into some old friends and decided to bring them home. Since you were all alone, thought you might like some company." He said pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

I looked over his head to see a tall, lean boy helping a man in a wheelchair take off his raincoat.

"This is Billy and his son Jacob Black; they're from the La Push reservation. We're fishing buddies." he said. My eyes widened as I took in the pair.

Wasn't Jacob supposed to be fifteen in the first book?

He looked up at me, fixing me with a dark gaze. "Hey," he said cheerfully. Billy smiled too as I slowly climbed down and stood beside Charlie.

"Hi," I said.

"This is Tulika, the girl I told you about." Charlie said patting my shoulder. "Let's get the game, Billy." he called.

"Nice to meet you, Tulika," Billy said as he passed me by, creaking on the linoleum floor. "You too," I said as Jacob and I were left alone.

"So, how you liking Forks?" he asked.

"Its fine," I motioned him to follow me and we hobbled to the living room where Charlie and Billy had already started the game. "You want to watch the game?" I asked.

"Nah, the game bug skipped me," he grinned at his dad then at me. I nodded. "You guys want something to eat? Sandwiches…?" I asked. They nodded absently and I rolled my eyes, smiling as I went into the kitchen.

As I pulled out ingredients, Jacob leant against the fridge.

"Have you had a chance to drive the truck?" he asked. I smiled. "Yes, I didn't try to go over sixty," I said, looking over at him.

Jacob Black looked nothing like Taylor and there was nothing childish about his face that Meyer had described. He had an angular face with dark eyes and hair mussed up on his head. He was slightly muscular and tall, probably a few inches shorter than Edward but still a good height. "How old are you?" I asked.

"Seventeen," he answered.

Damn, what happened to being an inexperienced fifteen year old that was lamely charmed by Bella into telling tribe tales?

"So, you live on the reservation?" I asked.

"Yeah, I go to school there," he said, smiling shyly as he scratched the back of his neck. "And you like to make cars," I muttered. "Sorry, what?" he looked surprised and I jumped, "Oh, Charlie said something like that." I said hastily and his eyebrows settled down.

"I'm working on a Volkswagen Rabbit," he said proudly. "That's great, is it fast?" I asked.

"It's decent,"

We grinned at each other.

"So, I also heard you guys have a lot of legends in the lands," I said archly, curious to see if he would blab about the Cold Ones…

Ha, Cold Ones, I mean they seem more like some alien breed than the sparkle citizens in my school.

"Yeah, you know Quileute's?" he asked. "I'm familiar with the vampire/werewolf story," I told him. "Oh god, that's the most embarrassing one, I don't know how the Cullens get along with that stuff." He rubbed his neck again, it was rather endearing.

Christ, Bella had to be mad, using this charmer to get information, I mean, he was a sweetheart.

"Hey, what are you two crazy kids talking about?" Charlie said. "Cars," I said smoothly as I handed him the plate of snacks. "Oh, huh, I got a call about that engine you wanted kid, I'll fix up a call with you soon," he said, patting Jacob's shoulder as he carried the food out.

"What happened to your leg?" he asked finally.

I sighed and told him and by the end of it he was laughing, clutching the chair and I couldn't help it, I began to laugh too, hurting my leg in the process.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, helping me into a chair as he continued chortling.

"Don't worry about it, I can take it off tomorrow." I said as Billy wheeled by. "Come on then, Jake," he called.

"Already…?" I asked, unable to help feeling a little crestfallen.

Jacob smiled at my expression. "Hey, when I get my license…" "You should come see me…and Bella," I said, adding Bella's name hastily.

Not your story, Tulika…Bella's…he's to fall for her…I thought to myself sternly.

I followed him out to the hallway where Charlie and Billy were saying goodbye. "Take care of that leg, Tulika." Jake said and I nodded as Billy shook my hand and Jacob wheeled him out, leaving me and Charlie in the house.

* * *

 **And so Tulika meets the last wheel in the Twilight tricycle.**

 **What did you think of the new version of Jacob? Did I manage to catch his charm? What do you think of their interaction?**

 **Please Please Review and Love you all!**


	8. 7: That Dial up Research is a Pain

**Hello Beautiful Reader! Here's another update for those who think this story's worth their precious time!**

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 **This story just got into a community! How cool is that?!**

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 **marlastiano - Thanks for the compliment!**

 **justabookreader - Glad you like Jacob and Edward! I'm trying to get this story finished by this month, we'll see.**

 **Katsumi Ren - Thank you for the love! Here's an imaginary Edward plushie for you! (Or a Jacob plushie; you can whichever you want :D )**

* * *

Bella arrived a little after 6, which gave me plenty of time to talk to her about how the trip went and about how I met Jacob Black. It didn't seem to matter much to her, seeing he was just a guy and not a warm cheeky wolf. However, she was really excited about a guy who had shown up on the beach who said he was new to Forks and was from sunny San Francisco.

"New guy…?" I asked, frowning, recalling nothing of such an encounter in the books.

"Yeah, and he said he was going to be at school on Monday," she said. I raised my eyebrows at her slightly dreamy state. "I thought you liked Edward," I blurted out quickly. She paused and glanced at me.

"Really…you thought that? Here, I was under the impression you liked him." She said.

I smirked. "Bella, you're delusional," I said.

She rolled her eyes before glancing at the plaster on my leg. "So, that comes off tomorrow," she said. "Yeah," I rubbed the plaster as she bid me goodnight and left, shutting the door gently after her.

I fell back on the bed, and put my clasped hand on top of my eyes, my brain carefully shifting gears into scary fast mode.

I was stuck here and it had been a month of that. I had no idea how I got here and neither did I know how to get back. I was friends with fictional characters most girls my age would kill to achieve but I was still not too excited about it. All of this amounted to only one thing. I needed to research what was happening. The only way to do that would be to use the dusty computer in Bella's room. If I did, she was sure to ask about the subject not that I had any idea what to exactly put in the search engine.

I yawned, well, might as well figure it out tomorrow.

* * *

I was sitting in front of my laptop at home, smiling as I finished another chapter of a story I was writing. Getting up from my seat to get my cramped muscles working, I paused staring at the open door.

It hadn't been open before. I never left the door open when I wrote. I had a tendency to talk out what I was writing and it felt very private to share.

Slowly edging forwards I pulled the door open further looking out into the dark stairwell. Hang on, this wasn't my stairwell. I looked back into the room. It was my own bedroom but the house belonged to Bella.

"Hello…anybody here…?" I called uncertainly downstairs as I heard a soft creak on the floorboards downstairs.

 _Help me…_

"Hello…?" I called again, moving into the stairwell, peering down from the light of my room.

With a soft swoosh, my door swung shut and I stood for a split second in darkness. Just a draft, Tulika, I thought, reaching for the switch but the light didn't come on.

 _Help me, please…_

I frowned, moving down the stairs.

Someone was crouched on the bottom stairs, tightly balled up and shivering. "Hey, are you ok?" I screeched and the person – girl – froze. Slowly, looking up, she looked at me.

My entire body froze as I stared at her. She was covered in blood and I had a frightening insight that it was hers. She was crying, black tears streaking her face as she pointed to the other room. This wasn't the scariest part though, the girl looked like me.

I was looking at myself.

Tearing my eyes away from myself, I edged into the living room to see a gruesome scene, straight out of something like Saw. Everyone I knew was lying in the room, some piled on top of each other, others thrown like rag dolls, limbs jutting out in awkward angles.

I walked forward, stepping on someone's hand and I looked down to see it was my mother. I gasped, drawing back when I heard the low snarl. I whirled about to see a huge hulking wolf, glaring straight at me.

 _Jacob…_

I drew back closing my eyes tightly, waiting for the biting jaws but the growling abruptly stopped as if it was caught by surprise. I cracked open an eye to see a pale white, figure standing in front of me, right in front of me, so close my startled motion brushed me right against him.

It was Edward, his eyes blood red with the same red dripping down his mouth and staining his white shirt. His jeans were dirty and he was barefoot, looking like the nomadic vampires I read about. Had he…done this to the people I love?

I didn't wait for him to say anything; I just stumbled back on the people lying there and flew for the door. I flung it open to see him on the porch, his expression changed. His eyes were wide open and he had a psychotic smile on his face, like Hannibal. I slammed the door in his face and raced to the kitchen, however he was already there, leaning on the counter, staring at me with the same deranged smile on his face.

"No, please, no…" I whispered, sinking down, holding my head in my hands as I shuddered. A draft crossed me and I looked up quickly. No, I wasn't going to just sit here and wait for him to attack. I was going to go down fighting…

"Do you really think so?" I heard behind me and even as I whirled, pain erupted on the side of my head.

Somewhere, deep in the house, a scream echoed – my own scream.

* * *

A loud thud woke me up, making me flail, trying to get away from invisible attackers.

It took me a moment to realize, light was shining through the windows and that the house seemed silent. I also happened to be on the floor with my body throbbing where I'd hit the wood.

Groaning and cursing, I hauled myself up, trying to keep it light on my foot and looked at the clock. It was 9 in the Sunday Morning and I was up. What happened to sleeping in?

Still, I was too worked up to go back to sleep so I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and took a hot shower. Changing into an over large tee and some yoga pants, I pulled the Velcro brace off and stared at the wraps on my foot. Grabbing some scissors I cut them off, rolling my numb foot gently.

Thank god, for my extensive readings, I had some basic first aid and medical knowledge. The foot was still pink and there was a scab running up the place where the trolley had cut me. That would need some ointment; I winced then went to look for Bella.

She was gone, leaving a note on the dinner table that she'd gone for groceries. Who sells groceries at 9 on Sunday? I thought idly then went up to her room, switching on her computer and starting the dial up.

I waited for fifteen minutes before I went downstairs to get myself some juice while I waited. After what seemed like eternity, I found the screen covered in ads. Not bothering to shut them down, I first checked my mail.

There were a few spam mails and other stuff and a few from Renee and Phil. I sent them a reply then looked at the emails from my mother. The weird thing was that she never commented on my not answering or checking my email.

From her stream of writing it seemed more like this was a woozy woman who was clearly the flighty type of distant mother. This was not my alert and sharp mother. I typed in a single reply and sent hit before pulling up a search engine.

I bit my lip, running my tongue in my mouth as my fingers stayed poised over the old white keyboard. I had no idea what to put in. gosh darn it, I typed in 'getting trapped in a book world' and hit enter.

After an hour, results came up, all from freak confessions to thought catalog lists, people who studied quantum physics saying that there were more than one dimensions and some people who are attuned to the 'strings' of the world can travel back and forth.

I leant back on the hard chair; I didn't feel much attuned to anything at the particular moment.

I typed in Different Dimensions next and all it came up with was some stupid role playing game. I sifted through some of the key results then paused on one that looked vaguely academic and not some fan site made by a kid in their mom's basement.

I clicked on it and waited for it to load. It was a dark blue page with white writing across it by a man called Dr. Roosevelt Sorenson…Sorenson, where had I heard that name before?

 _Many scientists have studied in depth the possibility of us not being the only beings in the universe. However, looking past the alien theories, the scientists have been hiding behind; I'm here to tell you what they have actually been hiding from you._

I sat up, my eyes narrowing as I switched to my scary smart persona I was so teased about.

 _The string theory as developed by Einstein states that much different energy vibrate on different planes. If that is true then why is not the fact that many other strings are the same universes that surround ours?_

 _People rarely feel the transmission from one realm to another and the few who do are too traumatized to speak up, fearing shame and ostracizing._

I stopped reading then, quickly hitting Contact Me. the background was same but in plain white letter were the words. DUE TO PRIVACY REASONS THE OWNER HAS PULLED OFF HIS CONTACT INFORMATION

I growled, switching off the entire thing before kicking out of Bella's room to mine, locking the door.

Ok, so the man must've been ridiculed enough to have pulled out his contact info, but what he had written was about right. I had crossed dimensions somehow tuning into the Twilight String and here I was. It still didn't make sense about how Bella already knew me but maybe she had already been attuned to my String.

Didn't Edward always say her mind was out of whack? Maybe this was the reason…

"Hey, you took off your brace!"

I turned to see Bella standing in my doorway, smiling at me. Sighing mentally, I smiled back.

* * *

The next day, Bella seemed overly joyous as she whistled in her room.

"You're awfully chipper today," I said, leaning in her doorway.

"I am; it's a beautiful day…" she said then looked at me. "What about you? You don't look half as happy as you were when you got here,"

"That's not true," I said, lugging my bag on my shoulder and leaving for the truck.

At School, a guy about a few inches taller than me ran up to Bella. "Hey, Stephen, this is Tulika. Tulika, this is Stephen, the new guy I told you about," she said.

I looked at Stephen suspiciously. He was dark haired, broad chest, the average jock stereotype but there was something about him…something that screamed that he was hiding something.

Stephen sent me a nod before giving Bella a look, "I'll see you in class right?"

She nodded and he walked off with my eyes narrowed on his back. Bella nudged me. "You look like he murdered your puppy," she teased.

"He's hitting on you. That's clearly my puppy," I said airily and she shoved me as we walked on, smiling.

Too bad I had no idea that inside Jessica was bubbling to go to Port Angeles.

* * *

 **Uh oh...the fateful Port Angeles trip...How do you think Tulika will fare?**

 **What did you think of the dream sequence? I'm quite proud of how it turned out. Edward is always so... _human;_ I enjoyed writing him as a real vampire.**

 **Who's the new guy? He wasn't in the books...neither was Tulika...do they have something in common?**

 **I await you thoughts in your Reviews :) Have a great day!**


	9. 8: The Heroine Always Faints in a Fight

**Alright, Beautiful readers, here's the chapter I particularly enjoyed writing. I hope you enjoy reading it as much!**

 **The following content contains some unpleasant situations. Reader sensitivity and discretion is advised. (I tried to make it as light as possible)**

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 **inuyashademons14 - Why don't you read and find out, sweetie? ;) ;) ;)**

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If I was worried about something in the entire book, it was the trip to Port Angeles.

Don't get me wrong, the town itself was pretty with the Bay and the Boardwalk but it was more of what the night enlisted in the chapter that had me nervous and jumpy. Best solution was to not to go at all but I felt obliged to accompany Bella.

Jess and Angela knew Port Angeles well enough to head to a large department store and start perusing dress up clothes. "So, you've never been to a dance, the both of you?" Jessica asked.

"She didn't have a boyfriend and India is not all that big on Dances," I murmured, my eyes fixed on the windows dreading the dark. I'd told Jess that I wanted to go back to Forks before nightfall and she'd agreed, albeit a little reluctantly.

"But you always say no to the boys who ask you here," Jess argued back. "Not Eric," Angela said.

I handed Jess the electric blue dress she was supposed to go for and glanced up at Angela. "What…?" I asked. "Eric said he's taking you to prom," Jess said, holding the electric dress up to her body. I sighed, why did I just know that something like this was going to happen? I mean, Tyler did the same with Bella, now Eric and me? God, help me…

"Angela, do me a favour and set him on fire when the next time you have chemistry together?" I asked, handing her the pale pink dress.

I was trying to rush them along. So, I kept handing them stuff that I knew they'd go for. Christ though, they deliberated a lot.

By the time the ordeal was over – surprising since I actually found retail therapy to work on occasions, I was fidgeting about and Bella suggested dinner in the small Italian restaurant near the corner. I nearly screeched when she told us to meet her there.

"Tulika, let's go to the small book store we saw." She said.

"What, no, let's stick with the girls?" I said lamely.

"Um…fine, I'll go have a look,"

"No,"

"What…?"

I sighed, giving in to the dunderheaded Bella Swan. "I'll come with you."

At least she was less likely to get attacked with me there. I knew how to fight back.

* * *

Bella and I meandered through the roads for what felt like an eternity. She had led me to a store that looked like it was more seedy than selling and I dragged her away but she was determined to find a bookstore.

By now, I was severely mad at her and she could tell. She was walking faster and kept throwing me surreptitious glances. "Hey, there," the same words, words I'd read so many times that I knew that they shouldn't make me feel so worried. However, when I glanced out of the corner of my eyes to see the four men eyeing me and Bella, I just knew what a good scare meant.

"Hello," I heard Bella mutter and I grabbed her arm, making her walk with me. "Just walk, don't look or listen to them," I mumbled to her, feeling her nod next to me.

"Wait," they called and loud obnoxious laughter filled the background.

 _They were going to herd us._

Damn, if only Edward had rounded the corner – or I'd forced Bella to listen to me…

I listened to the footsteps after us and came to a quick decision. The other two were already gone to cut us off from the main road. If I took on the other two, then I might have a chance of making it out of this after all.

"Bella…I need you to listen to me very carefully," I said when I froze.

The other two were right in front of me, watching as they drew closer. Son of a…

Without warning, I swung around, using my hard purse to slam against the face of the man nearest to me. The best defence is offence, right? The man stumbled back and I swung my other fist at the man when I felt running footsteps behind me. They were trying to make quick work of it.

I looked back quickly and slammed my foot at his shin but the other guy grabbed me around the waist, pulling me up high as I yelled, kicking out.

"This one's feisty," the man holding me said and I looked around wildly to see what the hell Bella was doing to see her passed out on the ground. Are you kidding me? Wasn't she thinking of self defence in the book?

"No…" I gasped and the man who I'd hit with the bag grinned, wildly. Lurching forward, he brought his fist down on my face and I dropped, right on my already injured leg.

Another man that I'd tried to punch and the man I'd kicked grabbed me by my hair and chin and turned my face up. "Isn't so fun when done to you, is it?" I growled out a low curse at him when I saw the other two inching towards Bella.

"Don't you dare," I shouted when headlights flew around the corner, nearly running over the guy who was gripping my chin, making him let go of me and stagger back on the concrete.

I gaped as the silver car fishtailed, burning tire on the road, stopping between me and the assaulter.

At least that hadn't changed.

The driver's door opened and Edward stepped out, his eyes narrowed and dangerous. "Get in the car, Tulika." He said in a clipped, furious tone and I didn't argue as I stumbled up to my feet and hobbled into the passenger side.

I watched as he walked, faster than a human but still precise to the attackers and stared at them. The guys glanced at each other before he bent over and scooped Bella up, casting one last look at them as if memorising their faces. Well, maybe he was actually doing it.

He placed my unconscious friend in the back and sat back in, revving the engine and accelerating away even before he swung his door shut.

* * *

I stared out into the night, feeling numb and cold as I watched the dark shapes whizz by. I couldn't see through clearly, it was like a haze had settled down on me. I had always been prepared, fighting and learning to get away – but somehow the real thing had seemed much more close to the mark.

I couldn't – didn't want to believe what might have happened if Edward hadn't shown up. The thought made my throat choke up and I blinked madly. Yes, it was still a blow to my pride but I had no trouble accepting it to myself – as long as he didn't know it.

"Are you alright?"

I jumped and quickly looked at him. The passing streetlight cast weird flashes of his beautiful face but I knew he looked murderous. "Are you…?" I asked.

His lips twitched as if he was fighting off a reluctant smile. "No, distract me please," he said. I already knew what he meant so I sighed, relegating myself to a job I would rather be just reading or watching.

"Shouldn't you be putting your seat belt on?" I asked, quietly. Too quietly to sound anywhere lighthearted, I thought.

He turned and shot me a look, the anger melting into an incredulous twinkle. "You put _your_ seat belt on," he said. I didn't answer, choosing to stare out the windshield.

"Did you know Eric's going off about taking me to Prom?" I asked, absently. "Yes," he said. He slowed to a halt and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "You know, I wouldn't mind you helping me dislocate his arm or something," I mumbled.

He hummed and I looked back at Bella. "She seemed so tough – now she's just what the reviews say; unable to fight her way out of a paper bag." I said bitterly. I didn't blame her for passing out but still…the way the men had gripped me was still too fresh in my mind.

"She needs to go home…" Edward said, throwing the car into motion and joining the traffic seamlessly.

Less than ten minutes, we were outside La Bella Italia, the restaurant we were supposed to go have dinner in. "Go stop your friends," he said smoothly and I didn't argue. It was helpful knowing his little tricks; I saved a lot of time speeding things along.

"Jess, Angela…!" I called and winced at how scratchy my voice sounded.

They immediately turned around and walked back. "Where the hell were you?" Jess demanded before slowing down to see Edward leading a dazed looking Bella towards us.

I gave her a quick rundown and begged her to take Bella with her and tell the chief that we were having a sleepover. "What about you?" Angela asked. "I think Tulika should eat something. She's had a shock and some food will be good for her. I would suggest the same for you," he looked at Bella who blinked up at him, "but I'm not sure if you can keep it down." He finished.

"Um…" Jess said, very eloquently but Angela was faster.

"Are you sure, Tulika? You're…hurt," she said, her face faltering and I wondered just how bad the bruising must've been. "I'll be fine; I'll call you later," I said. Angela nodded and moved in to hug me. "I'm so sorry this happened. We shouldn't have let you go off." She said.

I nodded as Jess hugged me too. "See you in school; we'll take care of Bella." She promised then the two of them led Bella to Jess's car.

I turned to look at Edward to see his eyes on me, lingering slightly on the area around my eyes and head. Gosh, maybe I did look bad.

"Come on then," I said and he walked to the restaurant door, holding it open. I walked past and looked around for the inadvertent blond hostess. She bustled out from the side of the reception and gasped when she saw me and Edward. I really hoped she wasn't thinking I'd come for a meal with my abusive boyfriend.

"We'd like a booth please," I said, and her eyes flickered to me before she smiled – a wide, charming white smile. "Of course," she said and led us to the partition mentioned in the books.

"Is this ok?" she asked, gesturing to a small square booth at the very end, facing the Bay. "It's perfect," I looked at Edward to see him smiling his own brand of toothpaste smile at the hostess who looked rightfully staggered. "Um…your server will be right out," she said.

Edward slid into the booth and I sat down in front of him, looking at the people on the bay walk. If only Bella had listened or I'd been a bit more forceful, we could've been among those safe people.

"You're quiet," he murmured and I looked at him. His expression was unreadable. "Usually, you always snap at me," he explained. I shrugged, looking around for the server when a girl with short black hair and mile long legs walked out, smiling…at Edward. Typical women…

"Hello, my name is Amber and I will be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" she said in one breath.

As expected, Edward looked at me. "I'll have a coke," I said. God, I needed some iced carbonated caffeine. "Two cokes," he ordered.

She assured him of bringing out the two cokes and I watched her as she did the whole turning on a heel to swish her hair and sway her hips walk back to the kitchen. "Hmm, looks like the whole dazzle thing isn't as overrated if you're surrounded with women like that." I muttered to myself.

"The whole dazzling thing…?" I looked at him with a wry smile as he raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"You know, when you smile at girls and they swoon all over you." I said. He tilted his head. "I've never seen you swoon when I smile at you." He said. "That's because I am not dazzled by you," I said, with just a teensy amount of haughtiness in my voice. Seriously, I was not confused by the looks of a, ok I'll admit, gorgeous, well loved character and I was proud of it.

"How do you feel? Are you sick, cold…feeling dizzy, like going into shock? Does your face hurt?" he pressed, ignoring my comment.

Right on cue, Amber came upon us with my cokes and bread sticks. "Are you ready to order?" she asked. He looked at me. "The Chicken sauce pasta with grated Parmesan," I said and she quickly wrote it down.

She turned back to him and he shook his head. "Nothing for me, thanks," he said. "Let me know if you changed your mind," she said but Edward ignored her, looking at me.

When she was gone, I picked up one of the cups and began drinking from the straw. He put one elbow on the table, his chin in palm as he smiled at me. Was he trying to 'dazzle' me? I frowned and pulled the cup away.

"What is it?" I asked but he just shook his head, pushing the second cut towards me too. I blinked, "Thank you," I muttered and he nodded, still smiling. Frankly it was beginning to get disconcerting. It reminded me of the deranged smile he'd worn in my dream. I shuddered at the thought and quickly looked away from him.

"Don't you have a jacket?" he asked.

"Nope, I wasn't planning on staying here this late anyway; we planned on leaving near six," I told him and he nodded before taking off his jacket. "Oh, it's fine, don't bother, Edward," I said but he gave me a look which said he wasn't going to listen to any protests. I sighed, taking the jacket from him and sliding my arms in the sleeves.

"Thanks, now I feel smaller than I already am," I grumbled and he shook his head. "You should be going into shock," he said. "I'm a little shaken up. I mean, I'm not repressive like Bella but…" I said but the arrival of the waitress cut me off.

She dropped a plate of stringy pasta smeared with red spicy sauce of chicken pieces in front of me and turned quickly to Edward, nearly upsetting my Coke with her tray. I scowled at her, making Edward smirk, slightly. "Did you change your mind? Isn't there anything I can get you?" she asked and I nearly gagged at the dripping double entendre in her voice.

"No, but some more soda and some ice would be nice, if you could put it in a pack or something," he gestured at me and so did the server. Her eyes washed over my face and I saw surprise and worry cross it. Great, now she notices.

"Of course," this time her hurrying away actually had purpose.

"You were saying," he continued. "Let's talk about that in the car. I want to know a few things though." I said.

"Of course,"

Amber returned with the sodas and a lemon yellow plastic bag with crushed ice in it. She passed it to me and I placed it right where the man had stuck me on my temple.

"How's your leg?" he asked. "Sore, but it'll get better," I said before leaning forward. "Were you following Bella to Port Angeles?" I asked. I already knew the answer and that he wouldn't answer it so I decided to cut to the chase.

He looked at me with an unfathomable expression, saying nothing and I sighed, already moving to the next. "Say, someone can read minds, with an exception," I began, not sure if I wanted to add 'hypothetically' to the whole measure. I knew what he was and I was pretty sure he suspected I knew so why bother?

He held up a finger though, "Are we talking of an imaginary situation here?" he asked. "Well, since I was attacked, I wouldn't say that it is imaginary," I said.

Meyer had been so vague and convoluted in all of her explanations, of course it was possible that even before she wrote the book, she had had no time to properly map out her new vampire myths.

"You actually believe I can read minds?" he asked, leaning forward, placing his arms on the table. "Look Cullen," I sighed. "I know this is going to sound insane but believe me I could care less. I know what you are and I know what your family is and I know about your gifts. I was trying to keep a closed lid on this so you would never find out I knew but after today…well, you'll just have to deal with it," I said, trying hard not to snap at him.

His face had frozen before he glared at me with full force. I flinched unable to help myself; I certainly wasn't feeling very secure in my own skin at the moment.

"You already knew or did you figure it out? From what I've gathered, you're a lot more observant than you let on, and I admit we haven't exactly been careful." He hissed.

"Yes, you have, you just never thought someone like me would show up." I argued.

"What exactly do you think we are?" he pressed.

"Jonas Brothers," I smiled, remembering 'Vampires Suck'. His expression was priceless as his mouth slacked and his eyes snapped wide open, like he'd just controlled his jaw from falling open.

I giggled at his face and his expression softened.

"Can we talk about all of that stuff in the car? I really want to know how you're in Port Angeles," I continued and his eyes glinted. "Why is that so important? Can't a person just be in the right place at a right time?" he asked.

"Yes, but you don't really expect me to believe that." I said shrewdly, making his lips curl slightly.

"Fine; I followed you and Bella to Port Angeles." He said and I waited for him to continue but his eyes went to the full plate in front of me. "Eat," he said. I forked some noodles in my mouth and chugged at the soda as he talked.

"You have a very obscure mind. I can hear you but your thoughts…they were all ridiculous at the best of times, the only times I have heard a proper sentence in your mind was when we fought or when I find you injured. Of course, now that you tell me you know…well, it's obvious you know how to cloak your mind. I should've known," he said.

I chewed up my pasta.

"It's easy to track you when you don't know you're being followed," a corner of his plump mouth pulled up, "but you still think too much, too many things in that head than I can keep up with. Half of them don't make sense but I always chalked it up to you having a very complicated mind. Today, I was extra frustrated; you were jumpy, nervous and all I got was that you were worried about Bella's safety." His jaw clamped. "Why you would worry about that puzzled me, so I was about to get out and come to you, your thoughts were giving me a headache and the best bet I had was to swipe you and her away. However, when I got there you were gone."

"I followed your mind through the industrial section and then I felt it, your…distress." He balled his fists on the table. "It was very difficult, simply to take the two of you away and leave them still breathing. I was going to just let you go off with Angela and Jessica but I didn't think that I would be very much in control of myself if you left me," he said in a low voice.

"Although, now…looking at what they did to you; I'm not sure if I really want to leave them alive." His eyes flickered up to me, "Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

I nodded, taking one last sip of the forgotten soda and bundling the cream jacket to me, I burrowed in its warmth as Amber moved towards us. He asked for the check, his voice rough.

I saw him dig in his pocket, probably reading her mind to read how much he owed and slipped it into the black folder.

He stood up and I hurried after him as he led us towards his car. He opened the passenger door but I paused, looking at the side view mirror. I tilted it up and winced at my face. My right temple and the portion around my eye was swollen and there was dark finger shaped bruising around my chin and mouth. It was a miracle my glasses had survived the ordeal.

"Lovely, I have a freaking black eye," I moaned, dropping my head on the cool metal door before flopping down into the car. He was – quite gracefully – I had to admit, to the driver's side and pulled into the traffic.

"Now," I looked at him to see him smiling dryly at me.

"It's your turn."

* * *

 **Well...? Please Please Please tell me you loved it!**

 **Tulika just came out a lot more fierce than I was originally planning her to be.**

 **Even Bella passing out was an impulse, you see, I just can't picture her doing any heavy-duty stuff. Plus, she's always shown unharmed and I wanted this to be very very real. People out there who've been through this kind of thing and gotten out by fighting didn't do it without a scratch. I wanted to show some respect to fighters!**

 **Pretty Please with a Cherry on the Top; Please Review! This is one chapter I want all readers to say something about; what did you think of the scene? Was it too much? Was it not real enough? Tell me, Tell me, Tell me, Please...**

 **Much Love!**


	10. 9: Original Vampire Stories

**Alright Lovelies! Here's another update just for you!**

 **Special shout out to inuyashademons14!**

* * *

"I'm afraid I'll have to skip," I said, immediately. Talking about Edward was fine, I mean everyone knew…in my world that is but no one knew about me and I couldn't afford it either.

"That's not fair," he complained.

"Life never is," I murmured. If it was, I'd probably be in my own bed reading about Bella and Edward having this inane conversation. "Aren't we past all the evasiveness?" he asked, gently. I glanced at him. "Do not try to dazzle me, it won't work." I said and he grinned looking out the windshield.

I opened my mouth to look for an excuse and decided to copy off Twilight yet again. "Do you always drive like this?" I asked lightly.

He raised an eyebrow, "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked in the same tone. "No, but Bella might be a little upset if you turn me into a road pretzel," I said. "It won't happen," he raised a hand and rapped his knuckles against his forehead, "Built-in radar," he said.

"Charlie's a cop, you know. I could just blab to him," I said and he rolled his eyes. "You didn't answer my question in the restaurant. What do you think are we?" he said.

"Does it matter? I think you know," I said, tired.

"What do you mean, 'does it matter'? You don't think it matters that you're here alone with me even when you know I'm not human?" he asked, scowling at the road.

I rolled my eyes. "You're a vampire. There, happy…?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I find this difficult to believe. I knew you were strange…unique, even one of a kind if I had to grate out…but I never took you for blasé," he said.

"How am I being blasé?" I asked, angrily. "You don't seem to have a drop of self preservation. If you're willing to be in a car with me alone," He said. "Christ Edward, you brought me with you. I didn't beg on my hands and knees for you to drive me home. I'd be happy to call Charlie or get a ride back home if it such a bother!" I snapped, crossing my arms sulkily.

There was a pause.

"I didn't mean to offend you."

I sniffed. "It's just that the thought of you knowing about us has me unsettled. I am sorry if I'm being harsher than usual." He said sincere.

"You should've kept with Bella. At least she would be a much better conversationalist for you. With all that fluff in her head," I said rudely.

"You are a little too obsessed with her," he noted.

"Because it's her story," I muttered and he frowned looking at me.

Damn, superhuman hearing… _damn_ , superhuman mind hearing too…

I carefully pulled my mind blank and began thinking of chocolate…yum…

"You're doing it again," he muttered and I glanced at him. "Giving me bad signals; why are you thinking of chocolate rivers?" he asked in bemusement.

"Do you know the Quileute?" I asked. He frowned, nodding. "Tell me about them," I said. He shrugged. "There's not much to tell. We keep off their lands, they keep off ours, it has been going on for generations," he told me.

"They don't think you're dangerous; at least not this generation, not yet anyways." I said, thinking of Jacob.

"What they think doesn't matter, we are still dangerous. To them and to everyone else," he said. I didn't have to look at him to know that he was looking at me when he said that.

"Why do they call you cold ones? I mean, did they touch you or take your temperature?" I asked.

He laughed at that.

"No, they call us the cold ones because they used to call their dead the cold ones. They literally had a cemetery which they called the cold lands. Anything dead is cold to them," he said.

"Then they should've called you White Walkers," I said. He looked surprised at that but I just giggled at my silly joke.

"You know because you're cold and white…and you also do that weird sparkle thing." I explained. "What weird sparkle thing?" he asked. "In the sun, don't you sparkle like glitter?" I asked, trying hard not to laugh.

Edward turned his head to look at me like I had gone mad.

"We do not sparkle and we maybe pale but we're not always cold, not when we have fresh blood in our systems or we eat something cold." He said.

That stopped me short.

"You can eat?" I asked. "Of course we can eat. We're not really dead; our organs function as long as we have enough blood." He said, sounding miffed.

"Oh," was my only reply.

"So, you don't sparkle, you can eat, do you sleep?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I can, but that doesn't mean that we don't wake up. We can go awake for a long time but eventually even we get tired." He said.

I sat in a daze, my mouth hanging open. What was he doing? No, what had Meyer done? This wasn't a glittery veggie joke of a vampire…this was, "You're a real vampire," I whispered.

"Apparently," he said, rolling my eyes.

I slumped back, leaning my head back on the leather seats as he drove on.

"Are you scared of me?" he asked.

"I…don't know; no. I mean, I really don't have a reason to be scared of you."

He didn't answer.

"You know, I meant it when I said that I wanted you to be careful over the weekend," he said, casually. "I know, and I was," I said. "I survived and came out unscathed." I said proudly.

"Not completely unscathed," he said, looking down at my arm. I followed his gaze to where I'd hiked up his jacket sleeves to free my hands. There were shallow scrapes where I'd landed on the hard wooden floor up the inside of my arm. "Ah, yeah, I kind of had a nightmare and fell." I said.

"About what…?" he asked.

I sighed, knowing he was fishing, "Vampires and Werewolves and Serial Killers and Doppelgangers, it was a whole circus. I enjoyed it," I said, while carefully filing away any images my subconscious tried to dredge up.

He looked at me, clearly catching onto the memory erase. "You're sure about that?" he asked skeptically. I nodded and he mumbled something under his breath.

"Hey, if you want to say I'm crazy say it to my face please," I said. He grinned ruefully. "You're just…strange; it's a pleasant change." He said.

"Glad I am of service," I mock saluted him and accidentally smacked myself with his jacket.

He laughed out loud again.

This time, I laughed with him.

After a pause of silence, Edward glanced at me again.

"By the way, I was quite…taken aback by your prowess at battle tonight." He said as if the thought of me fighting back was amusing and painful to him at the same time.

"Are you sure? You look as if me punching someone upsets your manly need to protect me," I said. He growled at that. "In that situation you're right, if I had been faster you wouldn't need to fight back to protect yourself. Not only did you have to do that, you also got hurt. I could've prevented it." He said.

"You can't protect me from everything." I said softly. Even though, you would try for Bella, you'd be too busy to help me anyways…

He looked at me then. "I can try," he said quietly.

"What would you do if I fought against you?" I asked instead, playfully. He smiled then sighed. "Now what," I asked.

"I'm fighting fate with you, aren't I?" he asked ruefully. "Is it fun?" I asked. "Perhaps, I haven't reached the fun part yet," he teased and I grinned at him.

"Tell me what else can normal vampires do?" I asked.

"Well, we have speed, strength, agility, we're cold to touch unless we take care to up our body temperatures, our organs function like a human's with blood, we eat, we sleep, we do not sparkle and no we don't have coffins to sleep in." he surmised.

"So, basically Vampire Diaries instead of Twilight," I told myself.

"What is Twilight and Vampire Diaries?" he asked.

"Um, they're books…about vampires. Twilight's got it absolutely backwards." I explained, sighing in relief. He didn't sparkle, gods are kind.

"So, have you yet figured out why you were being so nasty towards me for the past couple of days?" he asked. I glanced at him in surprise. "You're still on that?" I asked. "Well, since you know our little secret, I think I should be privy to at least one of yours," he said slowly.

"I guess I just didn't like what you were. Mind you, I'm not scared but…you know, I thought you sparkled. I took it as a personal offense that a Glitter God was interested in my best friend."

He frowned. "So, when you say Dazzle people, is that a real power?" I asked.

He nodded, "It's called Persuasion. All vampires have it. In addition to it, some of us have so extra gifts too, like the mind reading." He explained. And Alice with her future seeing, I thought to myself, carefully covered under the pictures of Stephen and Damon.

"Edward…?" I asked when he pulled into the Swans' street. "Yes," he said. "What do I smell like?" I asked, purely out of curiosity. He gave me a wide eyed look. "I would rather not think about what you smell like in a closed space, Tulika." He said. I nodded in understanding.

Edward stopped the car in front of Charlie's house and I peeled off his jacket. "I didn't get to say this but…thank you, I mean it," I said, sincerely.

He nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

I used the car door to haul my sore and exhausted body out of the car and he watched me go inside before driving off.

"Girls," Charlie called from the living room.

"Nope, just me, Bella's at a sleepover," I called back. He looked up at me when I entered the room. "She's at a sleepover and you're not…what happened to your face?" he demanded, standing up.

"I…fell, the Broadway was not really agreeable with me," I lied.

"You fell," Charlie repeated skeptically. I nodded, "I'm really tired and my feet hurt, I'm just going to make sure Bella's ok and then go to bed ok?" I asked.

He nodded, still looking hesitant but I ignored it as I went to the kitchen phone and made my call.

"Tulika, are you ok?" Bella said immediately when she picked up. "Yeah, listen, I'm home and safe. What about you?" I asked. "I'm fine," she said normally. I sighed, super repressive Bella. "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then," I said and hung up before she could say anything else.

I didn't shower, I didn't brush my teeth, and I just curled up in my bed shaking. Ok, maybe I was going to shock after all. I picked up my phone and thumbed through the call lists before dialing my mother.

 _The number you're trying to call is currently unavailable._

"Mom, please…I want to come home…" I whispered.

My face was throbbing and the calm façade I'd put up in front of everyone was slowly crumbling away in my loneliness. I was alone. Completely alone…and no one was even going to help me out.

This was like Tyler all over again. Only this time, it was me who had been nearly violated. I pressed my face to the pillow, trying hard not to think about the man who had had his grimy hands on me. Panicked breaths choked me as I uneasily drifted off without my will, too exhausted to even argue with my body.

* * *

 **I felt so bad for my babygirl here... :(**

 **How did you like the Twist in the Tale here? I'm sorry if I'm offending some hardcore glitter fans here but vampires DO NOT SPARKLE!**

 **Deal with it...**

 **And also, Review! Lots of Love!**


	11. 10: Maybe Friends

**Here you go! Enjoy your chapter!**

 **marlastiano - Thanks!**

* * *

The next day, I looked like a zombie with swollen eyes, yes with the black eye and the jaw bruising. I'd tried to apply the creams Renee had gotten me but nothing worked on the eye.

Deciding to tough it out, I raced downstairs, grabbing Bella's truck keys. Walking out into the ridiculous cold, I was about to slide the key into the truck when I saw the silver car.

My eyes widened. What was he doing here? Bella was at Jess's, if he wanted to pick her up, he should've gone to her place.

I walked slowly towards the car and suddenly he was there.

"Bella's at Jessica's." I blurted out. His eyebrows rose. "I know; since she isn't here and that truck isn't really up your alley, I decided to take you to school today." He opened the passenger door. I bit my lip. He didn't even ask; it was more like he already had come determined to give me a ride.

I looked longingly at the truck. "I have driven it. Besides, I need to bring Bella home today." I said. He considered it. "I'll bring her back. Now, get in," he left the door open and walked towards the driver's, before glancing up again. "In, Tulika," he said again. "Why are you so pushy? If I want to drive the truck, I'll drive the truck." I said.

He leant across the seat, just staring at me. "You can get in and let me take you to school or you can drive the monster and be later than necessary." He said.

I weighed my options. On the one hand, I really wanted to deny Edward and show him who was boss but on the other hand, after last night, I still felt a little unsteady on my feet. I'd had about 34 nightmares in various different scenarios and none of them had taken the edge off. That explained the zombie eyes.

Giving in, I slid into the open door and shut it. "Happy…?" I asked. He didn't answer as he pulled away from the street.

"The others took Rosalie's car?" I asked and he glanced at me in surprise before nodding. It wasn't too late when he pulled into the school parking lot, right next to a gleaming red convertible.

"Ah…" I sighed, my head dropping to the cool window as I looked at the car.

"You don't think it's ostentatious?" he asked. I laughed. "I think it's completely wow. You should all ride with her. She certainly has sweeter wheels than you do." I complimented, getting out and swinging my bag on my shoulder.

He made a low dissatisfied noise in the back of his throat and joined me. "Tulika," I looked sideways to find Bella and Jessica walking towards us, with identical looks of bewilderment in their eyes. I studied Bella closely. Was it just me or was there a hint of something else in her eyes?

"You did not bring the truck? How am I supposed to get home?" she asked. Oh, that was anger.

"You can ride with us today," Edward said, casually sliding in next to me.

"Oh, um…right, I well," she stammered. "I'll see you in Trig, right?" Jess piped up and I nearly groaned out loud as she dragged my friend away.

"This was a bad idea." I said, rubbing my face gently with my hands.

"Jessica is going to ambush you in Trigonometry." He said. "Oh, thanks, that's helpful, Captain Smarty-pants," I said, snidely. "What do I tell her? I don't want to tell her anything. She's going to tell Bella and Bella will go all Spanish Inquisition on me and she has zero tact and Charlie will find out and then," he startled me by taking a sudden step closer.

"Breathe," he said. "I can help. She wants to know if we're secretly dating and how you feel about me," a ghost of a smile crossed his face.

Yikes, what was I supposed to say? I wasn't in love with him after knowing him for a couple months like Bella was. I wasn't even sure if we were friends. And, what about Bella

"Well, what do I answer?" I demanded as he began walking me to my class.

"You could say yes," he suggested. "But we aren't dating," I said. "It'll be better than any other explanation." He said. "And very convenient for you," I mumbled. I still hadn't believed just how naturally Bella had said yes when he suggested they were dating.

His eyes took on a glinting sheen as he looked down at me. "It's up to you. As for the second question," he turned his face completely towards me with that ridiculous crooked smirk. "I'm very curious as to that answer myself." He reached out and tugged at a strand from behind my ear, twisting it around his finger as he turned and left.

"I'll save you a seat at lunch," he called.

Three people actually turned to look at me.

I had serious qualms about going into Trigonometry but the thought that Edward might be listening in on my indecision finally forced me to cross the fatal threshold.

"Tell me everything," Jessica said even before I sat down.

"Jess, he saved me and Bella and brought me dinner then drove me home. That's it. Nothing else," I said heavily. Her face hardened.

"How did you get home so fast?"

"He drives fast."

"He picked you up today." She insisted.

"Well, he knows I'm not very comfortable around Bella's truck, so he helped me out." I said.

"What did you talk about?" she asked. "General stuff; the English essay, Rosalie's car…" I shrugged, trying to make a very small deal out of it.

"There was nothing else?" she asked. I racked my brains trying to sift through this conversation in the books. "He didn't pay attention to the pretty waitress flirting with him." I said blandly which didn't seem to give Jess much incentive to pursue the topic.

I stared at the front of the class as Varner started the class; leaning away from her and hoping she's get the hint.

"Do you like him?" she asked, quietly and I was struck by how sincere her question sounded.

"I guess I like him…but I don't know if I like, like him." I admitted.

Jessica looked at me but at that moment she was called upon for an answer as the bell rang. Thank god, I thought as I walked to the rest of my classes, deep in jumbled thoughts, both for his and my sake.

Did I like him?

As a person yes, or a vampire person yes, but was I stupid enough to fall for him? I liked to think of myself as reasonably smart. If I did fall for him, I would be ruining the story of the century. Was it though…? This story was different; it felt more like a path to destiny games I used to play than anything. Besides, he never commented about anything I tried to push about Bella on him. He rarely even looked at her.

What are you doing, Tulika? My smart brain snapped at me. Edward belongs to Bella. Let it be.

So with that cheerful mental conversation cloaked in Shrek quotes, I went out to go to lunch.

He was leaning right outside the door, head tilted to one side, eyes spaced out. "Hey," I said, reaching him and he looked at me for a minute. "Hello," without another way he led me through to the lunch buffet, filling up the tray.

I watched closely but didn't comment until we were sitting at a table.

"I don't recall you ever eating." I said. He pushed the tray till it sat in the middle of the table. "That is because the food here tastes horrible. I much prefer eating at home." He said.

He lifted a slice of pizza up and took a bite, chewing it thoughtfully. I lifted one too, taking a bite.

"So, pretty waitress," he prompted. I grinned at him. "Poor girl; I bet the hostess thought you were an abusive boyfriend." I chuckled and his expression turned to amusement.

"I hit you, then I bring you to dinner?" he asked.

"I didn't say you were my abusive boyfriend." I pointed out. "The implication was there," he said.

I just ate more pizza, choosing to ignore the comment. "You were being quite evasive today. I understand your hesitance around me. Yet, aren't all girls supposed to confide in one another?" he asked. I looked up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You know what I am and you feel mistrustful of me, I quite agree with you." He said, though there was a strange light to his eyes at that.

"I do trust you; I just really don't like sharing things with Jessica." I leant forward slightly dropping my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "It may have escaped your notice but she is rather obnoxious." I said.

"You're not sure of your feelings for me," he said bluntly.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Your thoughts maybe hard to unravel Tulika, but I am a clever man. I figured it out." He said. "I have no clue what you're talking about." I argued.

"You truly believe that if it came down to it, you'd walk away first…not me, I also don't understand your fixation with Bella and me," he said, bringing his hands up and cupping his chin.

"There's a reason for that fixation." I said softly.

"Do tell," he whispered back.

"Look, I really don't want to be a bother. If not for the fact that I had to come here and meet you, you wouldn't even notice me much less talk to me. I mean, look at me then look at you. Aside from the obvious facts, that I'm actually smarter than these bunches of morons in this school, I don't really have a lot going for me," I said.

"Trust me this once, you're opposite of everything you just described." He said.

I shrugged, tracing the wood patterns with my index finger.

"I have another question for you." He said. I looked at him. "Were you and Bella actually planning to go to Seattle or was it just an excuse to be rid of your many admirers?" he smirked.

"That was a ruse. Honestly, I wouldn't mind going to the dance but it's too late now. I just wanted to keep Bells Company." I admitted. "You could've asked me," he pointed out.

"And humiliate myself when I was supposed to be loathing you, no thanks," I said. He chuckled at that.

"Are you resolved to go to Seattle or do you mind if we do something else?" he pressed.

"I'll have to check with Bella." I said and he sighed in exasperation.

"There is no Bella in this equation. I will talk to her. It'll be sorted. Now, Seattle or something else…?" he asked.

"I didn't really plan on going to Seattle. I would like to see it of course but I'm open to alternatives." I acquiesced. He nodded. "So, how was the hunting session with Emmett?" I asked.

"I really got on his nerves," he laughed then looked at me. "It was ok, I hunted two, and Emmett is more like a bear himself." He smirked at a memory.

"I suppose you prefer lions," I said lightly, nibbling on a French fry. He watched me for a minute then smiled softly, "Later," he promised, standing up.

"Does this mean we're friends?" I asked as we walked to Biology.

"Maybe, but is that really what we are?" he answered, opening the door for me.

* * *

 **Well...? Is that what they really are? How are you liking Tulika so far? What do you think of her, over all?**

 **What do you think? Is this going the way you think or is there something up yours truly's sleeve? *insert manic laughter***

 **Review Review Review!**


	12. 11: Need to Know

**Another update! Sorry, I couldn't help it! ;)**

* * *

 **Inuyashademons14 - IKR?! I enjoyed making Edward be more normal too! You'll meet the Cullens as well!**

 **Katsumi Ren - Addictive? Wow, that's a great compliment! Thank you so much!**

* * *

Biology class went long. Banner made us watch some old VCRs, what happened to DVDs and I could feel glances aimed at my head from Edward's side.

He didn't say much when he accompanied me to Gym. I was dreading going in there. I knew Bella and Mike would be in there. I didn't pay much attention until I felt a trail of warm fingers along my cheek. I looked at Edward but he had already left, his hand leaving the only impression of his having been there.

I went in puzzled. Why was he being like this?

Gym passed by in a blur, I was a little off on some of my aims and I even forgot to cover for Bella as Mike came running up to me. "So you and Cullen, huh," he said, toweling of his hair.

Bella looked at me and to my horrifying astonishment smirked at me. "There's nothing going on, Mike." I said. Bella actually rolled her eyes. "He looks at you like you're something to eat." He said. I looked at him and then without warning, laughed.

It was the same laughter that had led to my undoing on the stairs when the coach had let me run over by a trolley, wild and uncontrolled. "God, Mike," I clapped his shoulder when I felt myself be led away. It had to be Bella because she actually had the audacity to smack my arm, hard. "Stop laughing like an idiot." I wiped tears away from my eyes to see that she'd led me out of the gym. Edward was watching me with a playful expression and I rolled my eyes, giggling when his eyes shifted up and narrowed.

"Newton's getting on my nerves." He gritted out. "Do not tell me you were listening to my thoughts again. I block you for a reason you know." I said angrily, walking past him.

"I was just curious how you handled it. I was worried you would be so lost in your good humor you'd get run over again." He said innocently as Bella followed us to his car.

"No, you did it because you wanted to. I want you to stop it. Never do it again." I hissed.

I didn't stop to acknowledge the boy surrounding Rosalie's car and opened the door, sliding in the back seat to be away from him. Bella went into the passenger as he gave me a look.

"Are you still mad?" he asked.

I didn't answer.

"Will you forgive me if I apologize?" he asked. No answer…

"Don't give me the silent treatment. I'll let you drive this car on Saturday if you want." He said. "Hmm, also promise you won't do it again." I said.

"It's not something I control," he argued.

"Um, what are you two talking about?" Bella asked quietly.

"Nothing," we both said at the same time as he pulled up in front of our house. "Bella, I need to talk to you." Edward said. "Oh," she glanced at me and Edward gave me a meaningful look as I leapt out and went inside.

"Oh Tulika," he called me back and I rolled my eyes looking at him.

"Tomorrow's my turn," he said.

"To ask the questions, got it," I saluted him.

I couldn't sleep that night. Jessica's questions bothered me, Edward's determination that I was fighting any form of feelings towards him bothered me, Bella's complete indifference to Edward's closeness bothered me and of course, Eric's sudden proclamation of going to Prom bothered me perhaps the most.

I tossed and turned while sometimes scrolling through my phone but nothing happened. I didn't feel sleepy till 3 and woke up tired.

"You're not going to ride with me today are you?" Bella asked when I came downstairs. "Are you abandoning me, darling?" I asked in my best southern belle voice.

She laughed. "More like you will be abandoning me," she pulled back the curtain to show me the silver Volvo already parked in the driveway. I peeked out and immediately recoiled.

What was happening?

"You really like him, hmm?" Bella asked and she smiled softly at me. "You don't mind?" I asked.

"Why would I mind? It's not like you're stealing him from me," she teased as she grabbed her jacket and opened the door, waving for me to come.

My smile slowly faded. If that was not what I was doing, why did I feel like I was?

He didn't get out opening the door for me today as I hesitantly walked to the door. As Bella passed us by, she winked at me and I cringed before quickly getting in.

"Good Morning, you look tired today," he noted.

"Didn't get much sleep," I yawned, covering my mouth, "I don't suppose you'll let me slip in a question or two?" I asked.

"Not a chance, it's my day to ask the questions," he grinned, revving the engine.

I yawned again, "Will we have time enough for a coffee?" I asked and he sighed. "That was a question, Tulika." He said before pulling into the lane of the shopping store.

"Favorite color," he shot as I sipped at my jive coffee.

"Blue, all shades, maybe purple, really, I like all the colors," I said.

"Favorite music,"

"All kinds, a little bit of rock, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Kansas, Piano Jazz, decade," I trailed off.

It went on for the rest of the day.

I tried to keep it as vague as possible but after a while he started asking questions that needed deep thoughtful answers but he never really seemed satisfied because he could tell I was answering off the first layer of my head.

Biology passed like the same. Banner made us watch movies and today Edward actually seemed to be paying attention so I decided in turn to watch him.

He was leaning forward on the bench, his face resting on his elbow.

I studied the tousled hair, the sharp angles of his nose and cheekbones, the soft swell of his lips, the razor edged jaw…wow; he really was good looking. I'd just cast brief looks at his face, knowing what I was going to find. Somehow, studying made his beauty seem more…real.

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and I quickly thought of the movie but he smirked as if he knew exactly what I'd been doing. Damn…

At the end of the day, he led me back to his car, asking me to describe Vadodara.

I did.

The vast expanse of the sky, broken by peaking buildings and dots of greenery here and there, the dust, the heat, the sun, my house, I even talked about my parents and my baby brother and aunt and grandmother, it felt nice, telling him of all that I'd been missing.

"Are you done?" I asked when he stopped in front of my house.

"I'm not even warm yet, but Charlie will be here soon, did you tell him you'll be spending the day with me?" he asked.

"No, but Bella might, seeing as she's taking Stephen out sightseeing tomorrow." I laughed.

I sighed, leaning back. "I don't want to go just yet," I said. "Why not?" he asked surprised, He leaned over to open my door.

"Billy and Jacob are around the corner and they don't like you and they will lecture me." I said, making him freeze.

"Not good," he swiftly cringed away from me and revved the engine whirring away from the house so quickly that we were on the other street before I saw the Black's car turnaround.

"You actually listened to me!" I gasped.

He didn't answer as he gripped the wheel tighter, gritting his teeth together.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked.

"You can't let them know we're close." He said.

"We're close, now?" I smirked. His expression didn't lighten. He didn't even look in my direction.

He stopped the car in a secluded corner of the farthest block before turning to me.

"We'll wait till they have gone inside, I'll drop you a block from the house and watch till you get inside, ok?" he asked. He sounded jittery, nervous.

I shrugged and nodded before he pulled away, dropping me exactly a block away so I ran for it, feeling his eyes on me and his presence in my mind all the way.

By the time I got home, I was soaked and Billy and Charlie were engrossed in conversation while Bell and Jake were in the kitchen.

"Hey," I said, placing my chin high up on Bella's shoulder, "Glad to see you guys met," I said. I was happy she at least met one of the guys who were supposed to crazy about her.

"Hey, I'm going to go up to bed, ok?" I asked Bella and she nodded.

That night, I slept better; at least I avoided unnecessary confrontations. Though, I would ask Edward about it when it was my turn.

* * *

 **Ooh...Shady and Shady equals...?**

 **What's Edward hiding in this 'friendship' with T?**

 **What do you think of this new Edward? And as usual...What do you think of Tulika? Let me know...**

 **Please REVIEW! :D :D :D**


	13. 12: Day of Reckoning

**Day of Reckoning! Hope you enjoy it! This is more like a filler chapter, building up to the Meadow scene.**

 **Special Shout Out to Inuyashademons14 and marlastiano!**

* * *

Edward's questions the next day were…intensive.

He asked me about my relationships. With my friends, my family, anyone else I might have come in contact with, Renee, Bella, Charlie…he wanted to know everything.

"So, no boyfriends…?" he asked, in a casual tone.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "Um, one, and a couple of complications," I laughed. His face tightened. "Tell me about it," he demanded. I sighed.

"He wasn't what I wanted; it was a mistake really accepting him. The others…were not even important." I said.

He sat us down on the same table in the cafeteria.

"What is it that you want?" he asked.

"I don't know, besides I just turned 17, it's a little early to tell." I smiled softly, looking at my bottle of soda. "No one you've ever wanted?" he continued to press.

I frowned up at that.

"Don't you have to go hunt?" I asked quickly to take the heat off the moment.

He leaned back in his seat. "Yes, I do, one thing though, do you plan to sleep in?" he asked.

"It's Saturday," I whined, then frantically nodded.

He shook his head, grinning at me. "Fine, I'll be on your doorstep tomorrow at nine?" he asked and I considered it, "Ok," I agreed.

"Tell me something, what about your family? What do they think of this…arrangement?" I asked.

"They're worried; but they've not yet seen any reason to mistrust you. For all they care, you knew about us and didn't ring the bell even before we were friendly, you hated me and you kept our secret. We are…grateful," he smirked.

I looked up over his shoulder to see the girl with the shiny dark hair standing there, looking at me with a smile. I smiled in turn.

"Tulika, this is Alice. Alice – Tulika," he introduced.

"Hello, Tulika," she said.

"Hi Alice," I returned politely.

Edward fluidly stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, leaning over to brush his fingertips along my cheek before turning and walking away.

I watched him leave with my head on my palm, wondering how things had become so…complicated.

At the end of the day, I dutifully followed Bella to her truck where in my seat a piece of white paper lay.

I sighed, already knowing there was a 'Be Safe' written in his perfect calligraphy. God was I jealous of his penmanship.

Bella notified Charlie about her plans to go with Stephen around to show him Forks and I said that I'd rather just sit home. "Do you want me to stay at home?" he asked.

"No, Charlie, you go and have fun." I said sincerely.

I wasn't very sure about what I wanted to do about Edward's warning so I decided to throw it up to the wind, "Besides, I think I'll be going out with a friend if they decide to show up." I added dismissively. He nodded but didn't comment.

See, now neither of them could complain that I didn't tell him. Ok, I didn't say Edward's name but it would have to do.

* * *

I woke up early, nearly the same time for school.

I groaned, looking at the dull gray light flooding from the windows and rolled over, trying to at least knock myself out for another hour.

Yeah, nope, no sleep for me anymore…

Getting up, I lugged myself around the house. Bella had already left by the time I got out of the shower, taking the truck with her and I went to the closet to pick out something to wear.

I didn't want Edward to 'match' with me like some silly cutesy couple moment so I decided to pull on something workaday.

Jeans, hiking boots and a simple black tee and hoodie, see no mess outfits worked best. I could hardly wear a blowy summer dress to hike with a vampire.

At 9, when I went down, Edward was leaning against the Volvo, wearing…are you kidding me…a Grey jacket with a black shirt collar underneath, jeans and boots. Hey, at least he couldn't say we matched.

"Good morning," I said, tumbling down the stairs in the Volvo's direction before stopping to see him dangling something in front of my face.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Letting you drive," he said simply, letting go of the keys. I caught them in my palm. I peered at him suspiciously. "Why…?" I asked.

"I know you like the car. You might as well amuse yourself with something. Besides, I'll get a break from your questions." He smirked at me, before opening the driver's door for me.

I glared at him. "You know, if I bother you so much, you're welcome to go home." I snapped.

His smirk intensified, "And let a day of your fascinating personality slip me by…? Not a chance," he opened the door wider and I slid in with a sound of humph.

"Put your seatbelt on," he commanded. "Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, sliding the strap across my torso and buckling in.

"Right," I looked at him expectantly. "Hmm, take the straight road ahead, drive up to the intersection and take the right lane. That's the one-oh-one towards north," he instructed. Slowly, I revved up and gently slid out the curb, driving carefully, and full concentration on the car.

"Right again, on the one-ten," he said when I took the 101 north.

"We're going hiking right?" I asked finally. He nodded then turned to look at me. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Can't you already hear?" I asked. "I can but it's probably not what you're really thinking." He said. "I told Charlie that I'll be out today." I said.

He nodded and looked out.

The drive went on for about half an hour before he told me to pull up in front of a small clearing.

We got out and I pulled off my hoodie, trying it around my waist. "Come on," he said taking his own jacket off and swinging it over his shoulder as he started towards the solid trees.

We mostly walked in silence. Sometimes, he would ask about some things he might've missed in the past couple day and this time he seemed to find my subtle sarcasm towards my peers beyond hilarious. He laughed loudly, bell like echoes reverberating through the forest.

I was a reasonable hiker so we made it within an hour.

I paused when I saw sunlight breaking through a small gap within the fringe of tress. Looking back, I saw Edward looking at me expectantly. "Go ahead," he encouraged and I walked on, reaching the edge of the 'legendary meadow' before walking in.

* * *

 **Did I get the build up right?**

 **I always enjoy the scenes where Tulika puts Edward in his place. ;) What about you?**

 **Please Review!**


	14. 13: Why am I so Important?

**I present to you...The Meadow Chapter!**

 **All Reviewers get a hug from me and a request: Please give a detailed review as to what you think of the route I'm taking...**

 **Don't worry Inuyashademons14 - the rest of the story is long and I have yet to plan it all out. ;)**

* * *

The meadow was completely circular, a perfect symmetry, fringed with wild multicoloured flowers.

I could see the split between the farther trees which bubbled with a small passing stream. I gasped, my hands flying to cover my mouth. The movies hadn't shown the meadow to be this beautiful. "It's amazing," I whispered, aware he could hear me.

I turned on a heel, whirling like a dramatic heroine to find him leaning against the far away trees, watching me with amusement.

I paused, wondering if he was afraid of coming out of the sun because it would hurt him or just that he was lying when he said he didn't sparkle.

"I hope you don't turn into a sparkle fest!" I called, trying to mock him into coming out.

It worked. He had an affronted expression on his face as he strode forward. The sunlight hit his skin and bounced off but there was no shining, no glinting and certainly no bursting into flame.

"There, no fire and no sparkling," he said.

I stared at him. He was looking at me with a cool expression but there was no denying. He was really gorgeous. Why was this happening? He was supposed to fall head over heels with Bella. He wasn't supposed to share this with me.

I looked away quickly, feeling a sudden stab of an emotion I never thought I'd feel for any character in this world.

"What's wrong?" I turned to find him right behind me. "Nothing, this is just…overwhelming." I backed away from him, thinking about potato chips and milkshakes.

He frowned at me but gave up.

Sitting down, he leant back on his elbows while I rocked back on my knees. I reached out, poking his arm with my index finger, making him chuckle. "You can poke all you want; I'm not going to sparkle or burn." He said.

"I still don't understand." I sighed.

He propped himself up. "Most vampire lore wants you to believe that there is an easy way out to get rid of us. What they don't understand is that we are just a higher evolved breed of predators. We were evolved from human blood, you don't see humans burn in the sun, do you?" he smiled.

I shook my head, looking down.

"You're worried. I'm sorry, am I scaring you?" he asked. "No, it's not you. It's me," I sighed. "Ah, the world's best excuse…should _I_ perhaps be worried?" he teased.

"Don't worry, I'd probably run first." I teased back but his expression turned bitter. "As if you could outrun me," he said before bounding away with a speed that was impossible. Yet, there he was, standing right at the edge of the meadow.

"Would you be able to fight me off?" he asked, barely loud enough for me to hear as he ripped off a large branch and threw it against a tree, shattering the branch.

I flinched, pulling back away at the loud noise before he was in front of me again. "I don't want you to be scared." He whispered.

I didn't answer as he sank down to my level. "Forgive me; I don't know what came over me. It's just so easy to be myself with you, I lost control." He said. I shrugged.

He was still a vampire, I reminded myself, sternly, under cover of a replay of what just happened.

"So, you were telling me what worries you?" he prompted. "I wasn't; I just said it was me, not you," I said quickly making him smile dazzlingly.

"It's going to be hell getting through with you." He sighed.

"I worry because you're right. I don't know how I feel. I sincerely have no clue what I feel for you, for this situation…I don't even know where to begin. All this is very new to me, you see." I looked up quickly at him timidly. "If it is any consolation; I didn't know what to feel for you either." He admitted.

I frowned at that. He spoke of it in past tense, as if it didn't bother him anymore…as if he'd already made up his mind.

"I still don't understand about the sun. Are you completely invulnerable?" I asked.

"No, there are ways to harm us. But think of it like a sort of barrier, because we're not invincible, the sun can't touch us." He shrugged. "That doesn't mean it doesn't weaken us. Humans have a pathogen in their blood which makes it easy for them to work in the sun but too much of it gives them skin cancer. We don't have it, so our powers are dimmed." He explained.

I nodded.

He reached for my hand and I gave it to him, raising his hand for closer inspection. The sunlight made his pale skin radiant, but there was no glowing diamond thing happening in his molecules. There was only…

"You're warm," I said, surprised. He grinned, sheepish. "I ate and had some coffee before I came to get you. You can tell by the eyes, see," he leaned in and I had to stop myself from moving away as I looked into his eyes.

The gold of his eyes had dimmed slightly, was that a hint of green? "You had green eyes as a human?" I asked. He nodded and I smiled. "Human food makes our human characteristics show, we don't really like to depend on it but say we hunt on a day, we can last a week with human food." He said.

I knew I had to ask about Bella. I couldn't just let him shift territory.

"The first day, you seemed so furious with Bella…" I started making him sigh.

"Her blood…there's something about it that makes me crave it," He said. "Like the human equivalent of drug addiction," I murmured. He nodded. "I must ask where you get your information from," he said.

I looked up quickly at that.

"Edward…there are a few things that I cannot tell you. It's something I need to figure out myself. When I do, I will tell you." I said.

He sat immovable for a minute then looked down, before looking back at me. "Won't you tell me," he breathed and for a split second my mind went blank.

What was I doing? I could trust him, couldn't I? Hang on a sec…

"Are you trying to dazzle me again?" I asked severely. He made a face. "It's not 'dazzling'. It's called Persuasion." He said. "The sun made it weaker. Besides, you have a very strong mind. One of many things that make you so extraordinary," He smiled at me.

"You helped, with the acetone and also in the office…in that small place, her odour was overpowering. I would've killed her…and Cope but you just…you gave me this look. I felt ashamed of that look. I took off as fast as I could." He smiled ruefully.

"You went to Alaska," I said.

"I stayed with a few vampire friends, but then I decided that was cowardice. When I came back, I took precautions. It helped that I didn't actually have to be anywhere around her unless absolutely necessary." He said.

"When my family found out, they thought it was time to leave but I wouldn't let Bella do that to my family. I was also…curious about you. Alice supported me to get to know you, her and Emmett and Carlisle. Esme just wanted to stay here." He said.

"The more I got to know about you, the more frustrated I got. You see, I was getting information about you but I still had to know you. Even now, sitting here…so close to you, I have no idea what is going on inside you." He whispered. "It didn't help that you were always with Bella, of course, excluding the times I managed to pry you away from her. At first, I thought you were just overly protective of her and I understood that. She attracts trouble like a magnet but when I saw how it was affecting you…" he shook his head.

"The time you found Tyler's body, Port Angeles, the cart, I doubted they would've happened if Bella wasn't in any way tied up with you. It made my blood boil how you always thought I could want her." He said her in a weird way, I noticed.

"I'm just surprised that you'd pick me," I mumbled.

"Don't be; it's agonising to watch you belittle yourself compared to other people. It's gotten a lot worse the past couple days. Your mind is flecked with insecurities that try as I may, I have not been able to budge. Don't you see, Tulika?" he shifted closer, looking into my eyes.

I sighed. "We're both idiots," I said, making him laugh. "That would be obvious, would it not?"

"So," he began when I cut him off. "If you call me a sheep, I will find a way to hit you without hurting myself." I growled immediately.

This time he laughed so hard it felt like it was reverberating in the entire meadow.

"What shall we call you then?" he asked gently.

I drew my name across his arm, making him smile. "Let's not do that," I suggested before looking up at him closely. "Isn't it going to be difficult for you? Being around us like that," I said.

He gazed at me for a minute before slowly reaching out, placing his palm flat against my neck, his long fingers brushing against my throat. "Perfectly fine," he breathed.

I gulped down. Oh god oh god, this was so wrong…what the hell was I supposed to do?

He seemed to make the decision for me. Pulling at my hair, he brushed it against my face, "I want to show you something." He said.

I leaned back, wary. "That amazing speed of yours…?" I asked. He nodded eyes bright with excitement. "Ok…um, what do I need to do?" I asked, waving my hands slightly. He smiled and got to his feet before swinging me up and on his back as easily as if I was his school backpack.

Taking a deep breath, he began running.

* * *

Edward running was not nearly as terrifying as it had been described. For one, he kept a tight hold on me and concentration dripped off of him. We brushed past trees and I placed my chin on his shoulder, trying to keep my eyes open until they started watering from the wind.

I felt him slow before he stopped near the Volvo, completely still. "It's exhilarating, isn't it?" he asked, his voice high. I hummed and slowly undid my arms and legs from his torso, sliding off with a huff, stumbling a couple steps.

He turned to look at me. "You ok?" he asked. "Yeah, just let me try to get steady." I held out my hands in front of me to wave him off but he grabbed my wrist, pulling me towards him.

"I should've gone a little slow, I suppose." He said quietly. "Don't worry about it," I said trying to disengage from him but he held on. "I was thinking, while I was running…" he began and I raised my eyebrows.

Oh dear god no…

I backed away hurriedly from him and he looked confused. "Something wrong?" he asked. "What are you…I mean, are you…?" I couldn't quite bring myself to complete the question but Edward seemed to drop it.

Letting go of my hands, he opened the passenger door for me. Without protest, I slid in feeling somehow guilty and small before shaking it off.

Get a grip girl, I told myself furiously as he started the car, throwing me an impish grin.

I raised my eyebrows at him but he just shook his head, still wearing the smile. "Ok, what…?" I asked finally, irked slightly.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just…if it's any consolation, I do not kiss girls right after the first date." He said, sounding as if he was going to burst out laughing.

I flushed from the tip of my toe to the tip of my hairline. Oh, goddamn his mind reading…

Embarrassed though I maybe, I refused to let my dignity fall further. "Well, that's good to know, neither do I," I turned my head to look out the window as he drove off trying hard to ignore the fact that he was clearly chortling next to me.

* * *

 **Well...? Was it good? Did I break some hearts? Are there people out there screaming: FINALLY!...?**

 **What do you think will come of this relationship?**

 **Do tell Do tell Do tell!**

 **REVIEW PLEASE!**


	15. 14: Thank God He Sleeps

**Alright Beautiful Readers! Here's another update!**

 **marlastiano - Thanks!**

* * *

Edward's amusement lasted well into the curving roads of the drive back and I was starting to worry he wouldn't let me live it down.

"You still haven't answered a lot of my questions," I warned him but his smile didn't slip. "Does it matter? We have a lot of time to get those out of the way," he said, his fingers swilling the radio knob tuning it – predictably – to some fifties music.

I pressed my lips together, "When were you turned exactly?" I asked. He sighed, twiddling the volume down. "1918, I was born in 1900," I said. "Hmm," I quickly did the math in my head. "So, you're…approximately 115 years old?" I asked.

"Does that upset you?" he asked, quietly, the smile finally slipping from his face. Yap, we're officially in serious zones.

"You were turned by Carlisle?" I asked. "Yes, I had the influenza. It had already taken my parents and Carlisle was…lonely. Maybe that's why he picked me, no one would notice I was gone." He chewed on his lips. Nodding, I was ready to drop the obviously uncomfortable subject but he went on.

"The memory's vague. I remember him stealing me from the hospital, I was half dead already. He brought me to his own house and fed me his blood. That's how we're made, we're drained and re-blooded. He made quick work of it too, feeding me some of the blood he kept handy in his own place." He stopped.

"It must've been hard." I said.

"I can't say. I know I didn't want to die. No eighteen year old wants to give up the world for something like a sickness. Besides, compared to other humans, I would say my kind got the better end of the deal." A slight hint of superiority crept into his tone and I frowned. "Not all of you though," I said stubbornly. "That's true as well; some of my kind does live the life of nomads, sometimes even cannibals, drinking the blood of our own to keep up survival." He mused.

I gulped. Um…gross…

"However, I wouldn't have _minded_ dying. That was then though," he said. "You don't think that now?" I asked, confused. He smiled widely at me, reaching over to take my hand. "If I had; I wouldn't have met you." He said simply. He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

We were in the city now, driving fast towards Charlie's house.

"How many of you are there?" I asked.

"Quite a few, many of them believe that more of us gives us an edge over your kind since we're not exactly invulnerable. Especially in sunny places we become weak, our powers dull and we can't pull off any defence we might to protect ourselves. In sunlight, we are more or less weaker than humans." He said. "There's a reason the north is so famous with us. They were sunless places." He explained.

He stopped the car in front of the driveway. "Won't you come in?" I asked, politely. "I was hoping to," he admitted. I smiled softly and nodded, opening the door and walking up the path.

"How's your leg?" he asked. "It's completely fine now." I said, unlocking the door and switching on the porch light.

"Bella," I called up the stairs to get back no reply. "No one's home, Tulika," He said and I shrugged. "That Stephen guy had better bring her back safe," I muttered going into the kitchen to fix myself some food. "Or he will suffer your wrath," he said watching me heat up some leftovers.

I bit my lip again as I shovelled the food onto two plates and put them in front of both me and Edward. "You didn't have to." He began but I cut him off. "You brought me back safely; consider it my token of gratitude." I said. He arched an eyebrow but picked up his fork, twirling it as I took a bite.

I had just raised my head to tell him to eat when he stood up quickly. "Charlie's going to be here in a minute," he said, picking up the plate and slipping it into the microwave and vanishing before I even had time to properly stand from the table.

"Where are you?" I hissed but a low thud was all the reply I got. I hoped he didn't go to my room, it was a mess.

"Bella," I heard Charlie call. "No, it's me." I said.

"Tulika, didn't Bella come home?" Charlie asked. "Um, she called said she'd be running a little late," I lied, slipping back into my seat. "I heated up your dinner." I added, thankful now that Edward had superpowers.

Play it cool, Tulika. You don't want Charlie to think something's up and neither do you want Dracula to think you're eager to see him.

"Thanks, sweetie," He pulled out the plate and placed it on the table along with a glass of water.

"How was the fishing trip?" I asked, deliberately taking a slow bite. "Good, got a good deal of them biting. What about yours? Did your friend show up?" he asked.

"Yes, we went out, got a little exercise, not that I'm a fan of that." I smiled. "Whose car is that in the driveway?" he asked. I froze suddenly realising that he was playing it cool too, so as to seem unsuspicious.

"It's my friend's. I drove today and their dad got them. It'll be gone by the time Bella gets back." I said, hoping against hope that Edward was listening. He must've because at that time, the phone rang. "I'll get that." I said, unhooking it and putting it to my ear.

"It's gone," Two words, simple but oh so relieving.

"Yeah, thanks, talk to you later," I said and hung up unceremoniously, smiling at Charlie. "Talk about forecasting, they came and got it." I said, careful not to make any gender known to him.

"Hmm, so no plans for Saturday?" he asked. "I already had my fun; I'm all keyed up for bed. If you want I can stay up for Bella, though," I added.

"No, no, you're right. You look knackered. You go to bed and I'll stay up for her." He said. He took another bite. "So, she's out with one of the new kids' right?" he asked. I nodded. "What about you? No boys to interest you?" he teased.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. There are a few but they're all middle aged and live in Hollywood." I grinned, making him laugh. "You're easy to live with T," he said. "You too, and don't worry, if I find someone, you'll be the first to know." I promised before standing up and taking my stuff to the sink. "You leave that, I'll handle the dishes. Just go to bed." He said.

"Thanks Charlie," I said, making my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

I took care to brush my teeth first and showered before changing into pajama shirt and pants. Ok, they might have been a little girly but hey, I was allowed to indulge in it sometimes.

I closed my door and locked it before quickly hopping to the window to throw it open, peering suspiciously into the trees. "Looking for me?" I whirled around, banging my head on the window and slid to the ground, groaning and clutching my head.

"Ouch," I moaned. "I'm so sorry; I forgot your affinity to be clumsy." He said, still smiling. I looked at him through narrowed eyes. He was sitting on my bed, shoes still on, why did he have on shoes on my bed?

"Edward, get your feet off my bed." I said. "Right," he sat up, giving me a hand. "How's the head?"

"Feels a little bumped off, but it'll survive."

"Good, you can't afford to lose anymore brain cells." He finally chuckled and I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry; I forgot just how good you were at counting brain cells. Did you manage to count all of mine or were you being resisted?" I made a mock show of rubbing my chin thoughtfully.

"Funny," he said.

"Is Charlie going to check on me?" I asked. "I don't know, he hasn't thought about it. Right now…" he tilted his head, "his mind's on the game, he's thinking how late Bella's running." He said.

"I should call her." I reached for my bag but he shook his head. "She's home." He said.

I stiffened. "You can hear her now?" I asked. "No, but I can hear the boy she's with. He's…kissing her goodnight," he smirked, no doubt thinking about my less than glorious moment at the meadow.

"Ok, if you're still on that…" I began when he stiffened before slipping away into the darkness. "Tulika, you asleep…?" I heard Bella call. She was standing in the doorway, while I sat on my bed in the dark blinking up at her like an idiot.

"No…I was…thinking…about…hmm, why are you late?" I asked.

"I got dinner with Stephen, he's…really sweet," she rubbed her mouth. "Um, so, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well," she said.

"Bye hen," I called before the door shut.

"God…" I whispered, feeling him join me on the bed again, leaning in close. "She's happy, don't worry about her," I felt him breath against my shoulder.

That was just it though, she shouldn't be happy. The only one who made her happy was supposed to be cold and creepy Cullen. I mean she picked him over warm and cuddly Jacob. Now, she was picking Human Stephen over him?

Oh but he's not Cold and Creepy Cullen is he? He's warm and he's nice and humane. I thought, making sure to mask my mind in the event of the day.

"You're being awfully jumbled." He complained. "While you're being spontaneous, shouldn't you be having trouble with being so close to me?" I said, looking into his luminous eyes.

"Not really, we're comfortable with our years of being near human beings. The blood has lost its appeal." He said, picking up a hand and pressing it to his face. "But Bella…" I began.

"Bella is a special case. I don't mind her though." He said.

"Edward…there is something I wanted to ask you," I said. "Of course," he whispered. "Do you come here? Nightly, you know, to spy – I mean – to watch over Bella – or me," I blurted out, feeling his stare on my face. I reached out to switch on the night light to see clearly. "Why would I spy on you?" he asked.

"I don't know curiosity…?" I shrugged. He returned the shrug. "No matter how much you fascinate me, Tulika, I wouldn't just sneak into a young girl's room." He said, "Besides, like I said, I have to sleep at least 5 hours to function like a human being, or I become hyper sensitive." He added.

"Lord is merciful," I mumbled.

"However, I have visited the neighbourhood, only a couple of times though and I was never in your bedroom." He said hastily, looking away from my severe expression.

"Edward, that is so creepy!" I hissed.

"I'm sorry, I never came into the house, and I just…wanted to check on you after…Port Angeles." His jaw clenched. "Oh," I said sheepishly.

"You can't imagine how…helpless…I felt, watching you curl up and sob into the night. I didn't sleep that day. I was awake, sitting on your porch just…listening. You fell asleep with difficulty. That night was what made me decide that I had to…be near you." He sighed. I turned to look at him as he looked out the window. "I was having trouble keeping up with your emotions even before that. Remember the day at the library, when Mike asked you to the dance?" he asked.

"Oh, I try not to," I said.

"I was with Alice, and she told me exactly what was going to happen. She…saw my attraction towards you and didn't think it would go down too well, if I were…to stake my claim, for less harsh of a word."

"Spoken like a true chauvinistic male," I said, making him chuckle. "Hardly," he said. "I don't need to be chauvinistic to let people know you're unavailable," He brushed my hair back, running his lips over my ear.

"Jealousy is a strange thing," he sighed.

"Shouldn't you be going to sleep?" I asked. "Not yet, if it escaped your notice, I'm a just a tad bit over excited right now. Glory of first love and all that," he said. I cringed. "Has there actually never been any one?" I asked, unable to accept the '100 year old virgin' tag to him.

"There have been a few. Only in the passing though, none of them compared to you," he said as a matter of fact, as if trying to satiate me or something. "So, no sleeping then," I said, huffing.

"You wanted to know how you smelled," he prompted. "Oh right, that's fine, you don't have to answer." I said quickly. "Relax, Lovely," he traced a hand over mine.

 _Lovely…_ he called me lovely.

"You have a very…rich smell. It's musky and floral, sometimes like chocolate, or, lemons," he said. "Oh, and that is very appealing to you?" I asked. "Are you offering, Tulika?" he teased. "I wouldn't mind, that is of course, unless it hurts," I said quickly but he was already shaking his head. "Blood sharing is very intimate within vampires, Tulika. We don't do it unless…" he trailed off looking pensive.

Ok, this was new. Vampires in Twilight didn't have blood, so there was no blood sharing in them. This had me curious. "Unless…" I prompted. He didn't answer for a few seconds before looking at me. "Nothing, it's not important. Besides," his voice turned playful. "You shouldn't talk about intimacy when you wouldn't even let me kiss you."

I rolled my eyes. Typical male, "Edward, you can kiss me after the tenth date, or after I say so, ok?" I said. I wasn't foolish enough to let the man kiss me when there might still be a chance he could want Bella. What did he keep from me about the blood sharing?

Involuntarily, a yawn escaped me. "Ok then, I have kept you awake long enough." He said. He moved and pulled me down so I was lying curled on my side with his arm around me. "I don't know if I can sleep with you here." I admitted.

There was a pause.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Again a pause…

No, I didn't want him to leave but I also wasn't going to have him in my bed like this. "Um, you could always come back in the morning right?" I asked, feeling unnaturally shy. "There's a thought," I felt his weight lift off the bed.

"I'll be back in the morning." I felt him bend over me and his lips brushed lightly along my cheek. "Sleep well,"

Then the only sounds were of the flapping curtains.

* * *

 **Well Then...? Did I make this right?**

 **I have another request: How about we make a playlist for this story? If any reader has got some brilliant score for the chapter up till now; PM me and I will have it posted or leave it in the Reviews!**

 **As usual, I would love you all for some lovely Reviews!**


	16. 15: Meeting the Family

**Alright my Beauties! Time to meet the Cullens!**

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 **Inuyashademons14 - Aww, thanks love! I totally get the aversion to sparkling! Don't worry about the lateness; your reviews are welcome anytime and anywhere ;) No...I don't think T is going to become like Bella and try to 'clumsily' seduce every guy in the book but I mean come on; she's insane and crazy and a goofball; but she's adorable! (Even if I do say so myself!) Don't you think so?**

 **Debbie Hicks - Your review was long...like really long...so Thank you for that but honestly...I have no clue what was in it. I'm sorry but I read it but all I got was a jumbled scene from some twilight fanfic...so...what are you trying to say exactly? Still, Thanks for leaving a long review! Come back for more!**

 **Kat Smith - You won't have to wait long! Hope you like this chapter! Please Review again! Thanks for loving this story!**

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I woke up sore and dizzy the next morning. "Looks like the head wound, was bad," I said aloud before remembering Edward's promise to be back in the morning. He was clearly running late, a fact I was glad for. I did not want to see him with un-brushed teeth and uncombed hair.

Grabbing an outfit for the day that was decidedly more dressy than I would normally wear I went into the bathroom to start getting ready. Showered, brushed and combed I went down to the kitchen to see Bella grinning at me. "Good Morning, look who popped in to say hello." She waved a hand and I looked at the living room, expecting to see Stephen but no…it was Edward, looking unruffled as ever.

"Oh, hey," I said mindlessly.

"Hey," he said back, looking amused.

"I was just about to come wake you up." Bella said. I nodded, going to sit by him. "When you said you'd be back in the morning, I wasn't expecting you to show up at the doorstep." I said. "I know; surprising you is very amusing to watch." He grinned, making me pout.

"Have you had anything to eat?" he asked. "Nope," I said lightly. "Then you better go get yourself some breakfast." He said, leaning back to show he was staying.

I got up and walked to the kitchen slowly, turning to look at him twice before joining Bella and a chicken sandwich at the table. "So, how did it go?" she asked. "Um," I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "You know, it's usually me who gets tongue tied." She smirked. "I'm not tongue tied." I said.

"No…? I think it's good. Someone should know how to rail you in." she said. "Bella," I said in a warning tone but decided to let it go. "By the way, you have yet to tell me about this Stephen." I said and she blushed. "Would you look at that?" I grinned.

"It was nice. He bought me dinner and walked me to the door." She paused. "And…?" I prompted. "And nothing, he just gave me a kiss, more like a peck on the lips." She blushed even more – if that was possible. "So, you liked it? I mean, you like him?" I asked. "Yeah, I think I do. It's just refreshing, he's so…different."

"Hmm, hmm," I nodded, chugging down milk.

* * *

After breakfast, I joined Edward back in the living room. "So, what do you want to do today?" I asked. "I don't know, we could go to Seattle, catch a movie…or, what do you say to meeting my family?" he asked.

I'll tell you what I'd say to that. I'd say wow, go slow buddy, I thought, rolling my shoulders but ah, what the hell…it was written…quite literally. "Ok, I'd like to see Carlisle again." I said. Plus, I was quite interested in his vampire family so…

"Actually, it's Rosalie and Alice who're desperate to meet you." Edward said. I stilled. "Rosalie…I thought she wouldn't like me," I said.

"She had a few qualms about us, but, well, you did say she has a better car than mine." He shrugged.

I smirked. "I think we'll get on just fine." I said.

"I'm sure, and also, I think you should introduce me to your parents." He said.

I was turning on my heel to go upstairs but his words made me freeze mid step. "That's impossible!" I shrieked. Oh god, the last thing I needed was to get him on my case. Besides, my mother didn't even pick up my phone, instead choosing to leave me lame emails.

He looked slightly disappointed. "Then perhaps Charlie, you did tell him that he would know if there was someone." He said. "He already knows you; you met in the hospital, remember?" I asked.

He stood up, his long frame easily towering over me. "I think it's customary to introduce your boyfriend to your guardian. If not your parents, then it's Charlie." He said. "So…it's official, you're my boyfriend?" I asked, playfully.

He tipped my face back with a finger. It felt slightly cooler than it had been yesterday. "Yes, I think I would like to be." He breathed. Um…okay…what was the question again…I thought before shaking myself mentally.

"Don't try to dazzle me…or Persuade me or whatever," I warned, making him chuckle. "So, what should I wear?" I asked. He looked down at my outfit. "I think you look perfect." He said.

I squinted up at him. "You really have never done this before, have you?" He looked confused for a second then sighed, shaking his head. On impulse, I reached up and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, be right back," I said and rushed off, not catching the look on his face.

* * *

Edward was still standing exactly where I left him in the living room. He'd made Bella so uncomfortable that she'd retreated upstairs to take a shower while I skipped down. "How do I look?" I asked, twirling on my heel, He better like this outfit. I knew exactly how fashionable his siblings were.

"You look beautiful, you always do," he pulled me to his chest by the hand and I bounced off of him. "Then let's go," I said making him roll his eyes again.

It was in the car when I popped the question. "Edward, you'd tell me if there was a threat around, won't you?" I asked, quietly. He threw me an incredulous look. "Yes, I would, why…is there something bothering you? My family won't hurt you, I promise." He said. "It's not them. I'm just worried about some…visitors." I turned to see him giving me an incredulous look.

"Hasn't Alice seen anything?" I demanded.

"Alice…no, she hasn't, if she did see some rogue vampires I'd know." He said confidently. I frowned at that but nodded. He would tell me. I trusted him enough for that.

When I turned around, Edward had pulled into a sort of trimmed driveway made of grass. In front of us rose a rectangular, three storey house, with out-buildings sprinkled here and there on the vast property.

"Wow, it's beautiful," I breathed. "I'm glad you like it," he stepped out and in a blink he was at my door, opening it for me. "My lady," he said, offering me a hand and I grinned. "Why, thank you, good sir," I said, smoothing out my hair an clothes, trying to fluff out the flowers I'd stopped Edward to grab.

They were truly magnificent.

He paused for me to finish then opened the front door.

* * *

The interior was bright. I was expecting something like the inside of the Salvatore House but it wasn't. The furnishings were beige and gold with white walls and mahogany floors and soft carpets. The back wall was replaced with glass and a massive staircase led the way upstairs in the right corner.

What really drew my attention though was the gleaming piano on a slightly raised platform. It was mega huge and I could just feel the true love radiating off of it.

"Carlisle, Esme, this is Tulika," Edward's voice pulled me out of my reverie.

I came to myself and plastered on a demure smile. "You're very welcome, Tulika." Carlisle took a measure step towards me and offered me his hand. "It is very nice to meet you again, Dr. Cullen." I smiled. "Oh please, call me Carlisle." He smiled back. "You have a very gorgeous house, Esme. These are for you." I offered her the bouquet and she delicately hugged it to herself.

"Thank you, Tulika. I must admit, you are quite the young lady. These are amazing." She raised the package to her nose to take a sniff.

"She's here, she's here; she's here!" a loud squeal echoed off of the staircase and even as I started to turn, I was being engulfed in a mega hug. "Oh, wow, ok, hi, nice to see you too!" I gasped, seeing Edward take a quick step towards his exuberant sister. "Alice, you're strangling her." He said.

"Oh right, sorry, by the way, you do smell good." She said, her shiny dark hair tickling me as she held me an arm away. "Alice, are you serious?" Edward asked now closer to me, a hand on my elbow.

"Don't be a mood killer, Ed; we're going to be the best of friends." Alice said, moving away as her blond better half smiled at me shyly. "Hello, Tulika," he said. "Hi, Jasper," I smiled at him.

I sympathised with him. To feel left out, to have something different with, I could understand how it felt. However, he didn't seem like he had a problem with close encounters.

"I noticed how you looked at the piano, do you play?" Esme asked.

"Oh, just a little," I folded my hands smiling.

"Why don't we listen to you play?" Esme asked, now smiling. "Oh, um, I would much rather let Edward play," I said quickly. "Nonsense, please, go ahead," she said.

I hesitated, deliberated, before sliding into the gilded black long stool. I placed my hands on the keys and quickly weaved out one of my favourite tunes, a piece I'd written myself. As I finished, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "That was marvellous, dear." Esme brushed a lock of my hair back.

"Well, then Edward, why don't we hear you play?" I countered.

Edward slid in beside me, giving me an approving look before his own fingers flowed over the ivory keys, much more deft than mine. "Esme's favourite…?" he nodded. "You know, I have not yet let go of the fact that you're keeping something from me," I slid him a sly look but he was already looking at the piano. I turned my attention to the music to see the music changing into something soft and sweet, sometimes alternating between faster, and zestier notes before slipping into a complicated tone. "You inspired this," he whispered.

I stared at him. He'd written me a song. Someone had actually written me music. I smiled softly, leaning my head on this shoulder as he finished the song. "Thank you," I said. He was silent for a bit. "Would you like to see the rest of the house?" he asked. I nodded.

* * *

The second floor was panelled in honey toned wood, as he named the rooms. "Rosalie and Emmett's room, Carlisle's office, Jasper and Alice's room," he looked back to see me watching Rosalie's room thoughtfully.

To be honest, I was very interested to meet the enthusiastic and funny Emmett. Plus, I could hear conversation in low voices.

"Tulika," he called warningly but I was already knocking on the door. There was a pause before the door opened and I was looking at the exquisite Rosalie. "Tulika, hello," she said, looking distinctly taken aback.

"I just wanted to tell you that your BMW is the shiniest and most beautiful thing I have ever seen." I said bluntly. "Oh, I see, thank you. I know you said that already," she said and then without warning, she cracked a smile. "Come in," she said.

I shot Edward a triumphant smile and entered Rosalie's room while she promptly shut the door in Edward's face – after pushing Emmett out as well.

* * *

 ***Confetti All Over The Place* Ok, so I may have gone a little over board with the decorations but welcome...**

 **And So...our T meets the Cullens...what did you think? Did I get them right? I know Rosalie and Emmett weren't supposed to be there but I so badly wanted T to get along with Rose, since she feels sorry for the girl and admires how well she's coped with vampirism against her will.**

 **How did you feel about the girls hijacking Edward and T's date? ;) Edward and Emmett's faces were priceless; let me tell you.**

 **I sat on my keyboard and tried to put together a piece that would be 'Tulika's song' by Edward but I came up only with a couple of rifts - nothing concrete. So, a request to my readers...if you come across a piano piece that describes Tulika...her sweet side, her funny side and when she's being complicated...please let me know...thanks!**

 **All Yours**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE READING THEM!**


	17. 16: How about we don't do Baseball?

**This is kind of a short chapter. I wanted Edward and T to get a 'little' closer (wink wink), a little bit of Alice and Rosalie facing off at shopping and of course, I wanted to bring Stephen's mystery to light!**

 **Think of this as a filler chapter! :D**

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 **Inuyashademons14 - Rosalie's not really a bitch; won't you be pissed off if a catatonic teenager put your family in perpetual danger? The Cullens were faring quite well before darling Bella came along!**

 **Marlastiano - Thanks!**

 **Kat Smith - Thanks! It's nice to see you in the reviews again! About Steph; find out in this chapter...(also, about the cousin's boyfriend; Please tell me you meant that question in a PG rated way (wink wink) but if not...well, you could always as how Stephen 'fits' in. I don't mind.**

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"So, I told him never to do it again," I finished as Rosalie burst out laughing and Alice slapped her leg. "My god, you were right about her," Rose said.

Yes, I was calling Rosalie Rose, go get away with that Bella.

She was extremely nice if you looked past the slight vanity and tenacity. I mean, she had every reason to. Her life hadn't been easy and she was turned without consent.

"When have I ever been wrong, Rose," Alice said as someone knocked on my door. "Do you mind if I borrow my girlfriend now?" Edward called in just a tad bit irritated voice. "Poor thing, we're raining all over his parade," I whispered. "I heard that." He called. "Rose, babe, let me in now." Emmett whined too. "Alice," that was Jasper.

"Oh alright, we need to do this again," Alice said. "Why don't you plan a shopping spree?" Rosalie asked as she opened the door. "I'd love to," I said as I passed through and Edward took my hand, towing me away towards his room.

He opened the door, waiting for me to go through first.

* * *

The room surprised me. I was expecting rows over rows of music CDs, a huge stereo and a couch. It was much more furnished than that though.

There was a floor to ceiling window which overlooked the winding river in the untouched forest. A magnificent bed which looked like it was a period piece was right beside it. Desks and shelves decorated the wall beside the door. "Ok, this is unexpected." I blurted out.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"You know, I thought it would be a little more primeval." I shrugged. "Why, because I'm such primate?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the closed door. "Yes actually," I said lightly, running my hands over the endless books and furniture, standing at the sprawling sofa beside the window, looking at the river.

"This is nice, having you here. Although, I'm still waiting for you to come to your senses and realise that I am dangerous." He murmured.

I glanced at him. "I don't need to come to my senses. Vampires fascinate me. I know exactly how dangerous they can be. Too bad I snagged one who can't even growl properly." I threw him a snide grin as his expression changed from brooding to just the right measure of provoked.

"Snagged?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah," I heaved a resigned sigh.

He just watched me for a minute before a smirk of his own crossed his glorious face. "You really shouldn't have said that,"

I folded my hands. "What are you going to do? Jump at me and throw me on the couch?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

Yeah, take that, Cullen. Not the pushover Bella you expected, right?

It turns out; not that much because in a heartbeat he was in front of me, throwing me, not on the couch but on the bed. Oh, the bed is so soft, I thought as he climbed over me, raising and pinning my wrists over my head. "You were saying?" he growled – he actually growled – playfully.

"Nope, not doing it, you can't just pin me down like this." I struggled, fruitlessly for a whole minute while he just watched me with a smug smile on his stupid handsome face. "Oh, fine, you're a terrifying monster, you monstrous monster you," I said sarcastically.

"You know, I'm not really feeling the tone of your voice. It seems perfunctory," he chuckled. "Edward, let me up, now!" I said sternly. "Or what…?" he breathed, leaning in closer, "What would you do if I were to kiss you now?" his breath washed over me, making me freeze, as my eyes dropped involuntarily to his plump lips. "I'd...bite you," I said weakly.

"You make that sound so sinfully good." His lips hovered just a few centimetres away from mine and at that point, I was beyond caring. I wanted this. I wanted him. "However, I will not -," he started pulling himself off of me but I cut him off as I manoeuvred myself in that space to crash my own mouth against his.

* * *

He made a surprised noise, his fingers relaxing around my hands and I reached up, clutching his hair, pulling him down towards me. His hands moved down to my waist, fingers digging in as his mouth moved over mine hungrily. It was euphoric as he nibbled on my lower lip, none of the inhibitions written in the stupid book holding him back.

He rolled over, bringing me up on top of him, as his fingers fumbled on the back of my head, sliding the band off. My hair cascaded around us. He brushed it back. "I love your hair," he whispered.

I sat up on his lap. "I want to do something," I said. He sat up too, wrapping his arms around me. "Do what?" he asked. "I want to do something human. Like a double date," I said. He opened his mouth then shut it before opening it again. "Come on in Alice," he called, making me swivel around to see the dark haired girl smiling at us.

"No problem, we'll just play without you." She said, before whisking away.

"Baseball…?" I asked, feeling suddenly grateful that I'd suggested the date. I did not want myself or Bella to be anywhere close to a trio of blood-thirsty vampires. That was if Edward agreed to it. "You want me to go on a date with Bella and her boyfriend?" he asked.

"Yes, it'll put us out there, so we don't have to stay cooped up all the time. Plus, I'm dying to interrogate Stephen and I know Bella wants to interrogate you." I said, winding my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his.

His kiss really was addictive.

"In that case, you'll need a dress that rocks his socks off." I heard Alice say and Edward laughed.

"She doesn't need to wear a dress to intoxicate me," He said.

"Actually, your sister's right." I said, hopping off of his bed and rushing off to find Rosalie. It was time to put my new vampire girlfriends to good use.

* * *

"So, which one do I pick?" I asked, sitting on the chair while Alice and Rosalie both glared at each other.

"The black one," Rosalie said.

"The Purple one," Alice said.

"Hmm," I said, holding up both the dresses. "What about the orange one?" I asked. Rose and Alice were bickering but that made them stop as I held up the dress to my body and looked at the mirror.

"Well," Rosalie cast Alice a thoughtful look. "I suppose that could work." Alice murmured. "I'll find the shoes," Rosalie went off in one direction. "I'll get the jewellery." Alice went in another.

I watched them both go before collapsing in one of the chairs.

The shopping spree had gone a little more hectic than I'd been prepared for. Both the girls had a completely different sense of style, albeit both being natural and really good. It just so happened that it clashed with my more laid back tastes. Thank god, I had a little money saved up, courtesy of Bella, splitting our allowances equally between us.

"Not into shopping that much…?" I whirled about to see Stephen leaning against one of the male mannequins.

"On the contrary, I love shopping." I said, smiling. "Hey," I said finally. "Hi, I suppose you're shopping for the date you set up?" he asked.

"You don't mind, do you? It's just I wanted Bella and us to get to know each other better." I said.

"I completely understand." He leaned back and just for a second I felt that he knew something.

So, you can imagine how horrified I felt when he suddenly he leaned forward and said, "Have you figured out how to get home again?"

"Sorry, what…?" I asked. "You heard me," he said. "I came with the Cullen girls," I said, standing up but he gripped my wrist. "You know what I meant. You don't belong here, I don't belong here, tell me; did you figure out a way to get out of here?" he asked, his voice inching towards menacing. I gritted my teeth before yanking my hand from his.

"No, I haven't. If you have, let me know." I said, briskly walking away.

He followed me.

"I haven't. Listen, I'm sorry, if I alarmed you but we need to do something to get out of here. I don't even like the damn book. My sister was obsessed with it and now suddenly I'm here." He said and I whirled towards him.

"Fine, we'll talk but later ok? I can't risk Alice or Edward figuring it out and telling Bella or Charlie." I hissed. "Right, where are you from? Really, I mean," he added.

"India, I'm from India," I pulled out his phone and filled out my contact information in it. "There, we can talk later." I said and after a quick look around I beat it.

Ok, did that just happen?

I wasn't alone! Someone else shared my dilemma.

* * *

 ***Gasp* Who would've thought?**

 **Seriously, who saw this one coming? Hmm?**

 **How did you like Edward and T 'getting to know each other' ;)?**

 **Let me know in your Reviews!**


	18. 14: Stalker Gate

**Ok, I'm rubbing my palm together because I am going to be a villainous villain right now! No one throw anything at me, please!**

* * *

 **Inuyashademons14 - Thanks so much! Anywhoo I hope you liked Alice! And also...the little do I'm planning for our T and Steph!**

 **Justabookreader - Hey! Long time no see! Glad you liked Stephen's plot. This is just something I'm mixing up to get the wheels moving. Hopefully, if the book gets enough good response, I will explore all of this more in the sequel. :)**

 **Kat Smith - Well, here's me hoping Jennifer's boyfriend wasn't too offended. (Can you imagine keeping your boyfriend secret? Actually, scratch that, I can ;) ) Hope you like the little date I'm planning for our friends. A question; what did you think of the Cullen's reaction to Tulika?**

* * *

Edward pulled up to my curb when it started to drizzle.

I turned to look at him when I caught his glare. "What…?" I followed his line of vision to see a worn black Ford parked in the curb. The occupants of the car were Jacob and Billy. The looks on their faces were comically opposite to each other's. Jacob looked mortified while Billy's nostrils were flared with obvious outrage.

"What are they doing here?" I whispered.

Edward didn't answer, just mumbled something under his breath, too low for even me to hear. "Edward…?" I asked again, hoping he'd swipe their minds and give me something to work with.

"He's known that we're friends for a while now. He got anxious when he didn't see you today." He spat.

I sat back in my car, contemplating. "I'll handle this." I said, putting my hand on the car handle. "Don't forget this." He handed me the shopping bag, Alice and Rosalie had equipped me with. "I can't wait to see it; I'll pick you up at dusk." He told me.

"Ok," I said as he swiftly leaned in and dropped a kiss on my cheek.

Without looking back, I hopped out and protecting the bag with my arms, ran up to the porch.

"Hi Billy, Jacob," I said as I knocked on the door.

"Hi Tulika, I just brought up some of Harry Clearwater's fish fry." Billy said as Bella opened the door, looking surprised to see me with the Blacks. "Hey, how did the meeting go?" she asked.

I made a quick move to cut her off and smiled at Billy. "Thanks, Billy, that's nice of you." I said, going into the kitchen to take off my wet coat, leaving Bella to deal with Jacob and Billy. I kind of felt guilty but hey, it was my business.

I dumped my bags into my room before going back into the kitchen to get a drink, thinking maybe the Blacks were gone. I stopped short when I saw Billy sitting beside the dining table.

"Tulika, we need to talk." He said.

I considered the man in front of me before sliding into a chair, "Is this about the Cullens? You don't want me to see them?" I asked. He raised a brow. "They have an unpleasant reputation on the reservation," he explained. I sighed, bringing my hand up to rub my neck. "Billy, I respect you and I understand your concern but I assure you, there is nothing to worry about." I said.

"No, I don't think you do, Tulika. That reputation is well earned." He pressed.

"I know Billy. Believe me, I know," I insisted and he finally understood. "You're informed?" he asked, shocked.

I stopped myself from laughing. "I'm probably just a tad bit more than informed, Billy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date I need to go get ready for." I stood up and waited for him to steer himself from the kitchen.

"Think about it, Tulika," he pressed.

I nodded as Bella and Jacob entered the kitchen…with Charlie.

"Billy, hey, great to see you again," he said jovially, removing his fishing hat. "It is, sorry to show up like this but…" he shot a glance over his shoulder at me. "I'd say we got what we needed. Have a nice night girls, Charlie." He wheeled away with Jacob throwing me a final wistful grin and trudging after his father.

Bella gave me a quick motion and I nodded.

"Um, Charlie…we had something to tell you." I said quickly.

"Go ahead, kiddo."

I looked at Bella and she smiled nervously. "Um, Tulika and I were going to go out today…with Stephen and Edward…on a double date." She said.

He froze and so did Bella and I.

"You're dating…? And you…one of the Cullens," he thundered. "I thought you liked the Cullens," I said.

"They're too old."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Typical American dad…even though, he wasn't really that far off…

"Edward and Stephen are both juniors, Dad." Bella reasoned.

"Plus, I told you the moment there was someone I'd tell you. It's early stage, for both of us." I said. Charlie's jaw ticked.

"Ok, when are they coming over?" he asked.

In answer the roar of a car echoed from the driveway. Charlie sighed then walked towards the door, grumbling. Throwing a quick look at Bella, I rushed upstairs to get ready.

* * *

Half an hour later, we were sitting in a quaint little diner, looking awkwardly over at each other.

I could feel three pairs of eyes on me, ranging in varying degrees of judgment. I picked up my glass of water. Oh gods, maybe this was a bad idea.

"So, Stephen, how's your life here going?" I asked, in a somewhat choked voice.

He glanced up at me over his plate of fries and raised a subtle brow.

"Its fine, considering…" he made a mock show of a heaving sigh and I clenched my fingers around my fork. He could not be serious; did he actually forget Edward could read minds?

For his part, Edward was quiet, choosing rather to watch me interact with Stephen and Bella than actually do the interacting himself. I was drowning, literally. This double date was so awkward I would rather be playing baseball with the Cullens than bear one more chink or click of cutlery. It was more awkward than that date in Vampire Diaries…hang on…

A slow devious thought bloomed in my mind which I quickly smothered, making Edward fidget in his seat and make a low dissatisfied noise in the back of his throat.

"Edward, Stephen, do you know how to play pool?" I asked, indicating the single barren table at the back of the tiny arcade.

The two men looked at each other dubiously before shrugging. "Perfect," I grabbed Edward's and Bella's hand and yanked them up, "We're playing," I said.

"Girls vs. Boys, I presume?" Edward asked dryly and I laughed. "Actually no, I can't really play pool all that well, never had much opportunity."

Stephen grinned, handing us cues and a triangular aligner before sliding a dollar over to the broad man behind the counter. "We could teach you," he offered.

We took up positions over the table and Edward pulled me over to him.

"You lean over like that," he murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder and bending me over just so my body was parallel to the table.

"Line the cue stick," he whispered. I obeyed and he corrected a couple of my gripping as I hit the lineup, scattering the balls.

"Pick a ball," Edward said, coming up behind me. I placed the tip in the valley between my thumb and forefinger and he gripped my right hand, bringing it back just so when I felt his lips place tiny kisses over the shell of my ear. I looked over at him and he gave me an impish grin as I heard the sharp crack of stick hitting ball. "Well done, sweetheart," he said and I straightened, looking at the table to see the balls scattered all over the table. I watched the ball of my choosing – a red – as it sank gracefully in a pocket.

I grinned, raising my hand to give him a high five, trying to ignore the fact that he's basically been in my head and tried to distract me while taking matters into his own hands.

He eyed the hand as I glared. "Do not leave her hanging, she doesn't like that." Bella quickly put in, in a similar position with Stephen like I'd been.

Edward rolled his eyes before lightly smacking my palm with his.

* * *

"Tulika, would you get it? It's probably Charlie." Bella said. I shot Edward a wistful smile as I dug around in her bag and pulled out the phone to see the blocked number.

"Hello," I said into the mouthpiece.

No answer.

"Hello," I said again but was again met by silence.

I shut the phone and slipped it back into her bag when my phone started to ring. Pulling it out, I looked critically at the blocked number.

I glanced once at the trio sitting at the bar. Edward's head was turned just a fraction towards me, no doubt listening. I held a finger up so he'd see it in his periphery and went to the ladies room.

"Hello," I said, more forcefully.

Silence

"Listen freak, you called me, so either talk or hang the hell up," I bit out.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?"

A chill crept down my back as I heard the cold, heartless voice. It was mocking, filled with nothing but disdain for humanity. From years of studying profiling in my spare time, I could easily tell: this was the voice of a cold blooded killer.

"Who're you?" I asked, unable to filter the fear out of my voice.

"I can see why she picked you…and that boy, too bad you didn't fit the job description." With a click the voice was gone.

* * *

"We need to talk." I said, grabbing Stephen by his sleeve. He looked surprised but didn't argue as we walked out of the diner. I could feel burning gazes on our backs but I didn't stop till I was sure, Edward couldn't hear me. I put on some music on my phone and told Stephen about the phone call.

"Picked us…? You mean whoever picked us, brought us here?" he asked frowning.

"Obviously, and this guy knows him, her, whoever this is and he's a killer, Stephen, we didn't fit the description, what's that all about?" I asked.

"You think I know? I don't even know half the book, Tulika." He hissed.

"Well, there are only a few psychopathic vampire killers and they could be basically anyone. The story's changed, it could be anyone." I said, beginning to pace frantically.

"What if we're being stalked? Do you live with someone?" I asked. He shrugged. "I woke up in Ben's place, I'm; I don't know playing his cousin or something." He said.

"God, this is messed up. We have to find some way to go back…what?" I asked impatiently when he just stared at me.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I saw the way you looked at Cullen."

"That's…not the issue right now, we're being _stalked_ , Stephen." I said.

"We can't do anything about it; we'll just have to stick close to the Cullens. If anything they're the only ones who can protect us." He paused when I scoffed.

"Do I look like Bella to you?" I said. "I am not going to run and cower behind my boyfriend's family. If this creep decides to show, I know what to do. These aren't indestructible statues, they can be hurt." I said.

"Tulika," Stephen stepped forward, gripping my shoulders and giving me a gentle shake.

"We can't put up a fight without proper training. If anything, the only thing we can do is find a way to go back home." He said. I racked my brains. "There was a site, on the net, about some guy Sorenson who studied about dimensions intermingling." I said.

He frowned. "Sorenson, like, our librarian?" he asked, of course, our librarian, I realized. That was why his name was so familiar.

"We have to talk about this with him." We said at the same time when his eyes darted up and widened. I whirled around in time to see a quick hand strike me across the head, darkness taking me over.

* * *

When I woke up I was still in the parking lot, the only difference was that Stephen wasn't the one hovering over me.

The man was regular looking, light brown hair, up to his shoulder windswept like a surfer's or a vampire who'd been running a while. He flashed a wide, white smile when he saw I was awake.

"Morning, cupcake, you're a lot tougher than Sweets over there," he flicked the thumb over his shoulder. I tilted my head, painfully; to look at Stephen slumped against his car, a gash over his head.

I looked back at our assaulter as a database ran in my head, matching description to the face.

"James, you're James," I whispered.

* * *

 **Can I just say...I actually enjoyed Tulika meeting James. He's a heartless monster with a GPS brain and I never really understood the point of him going after Bella. I mean, seriously, if you understood why he did what he did in Twilight, please PM me or leave the reason in the Reviews. I have no clue what happened to the dude.**

 **So, to give him purpose in his literary life; since the poor guy just had about 15 minutes of screen time, on reel and on paper; I have made him decidedly more 'Vampiry' and less 'Just your creepy guy with the Fang problem'. (See what I did there? ;) )**

 **Please tell me if you like the way the story's headed.**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

 **Much Love**


	19. 18: To Stay or not to Stay

**The action begins...hope you like it!**

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 **BTW: I found out the perfect piano composition for Tulika made by Edward. It's called Haven by a Youtube music maker named Irdeen. You can search it: I'll post the link after the chapter!**

* * *

 **Inuyashademons14 - Thanks for explaining it to me! James did seem like a last minute addition to the story, you know! Hope you like our adventurers going about their business!**

 **Kat Smith - Give your cousin and her part peacock husband a warm (belated...for like 3 years) congratulations from me! Would love to hear more from you and your funny life stories!**

 **Zani45 -Thanks so much! Hope you like it to the end!**

* * *

"Very good," he said in a mock proud voice before grabbing a handful of my hair and yanking me up.

I gave a silent gasp of pain but didn't say anything as he leant in close. "Now listen, sweetheart," he said, "I got hired to do a simple job - a job to tell you and your little friend over there to pack your bags and get the hell out of this town…or better yet, go back to your own world. From what I saw, you're a smart girl. Find a way, I don't care what and neither does my boss. If you don't clear out till the end of this night, I'll be coming after you at daybreak. Is that clear?"

I just stared at him and he gave me a brief jerk. "Understood or not, sweetheart?" he snarled.

"I understand; who's your boss? Did they send us here?" I asked, a shot of bravery hitting me.

He grinned. "You'd like to know that, won't you?" he let go of me and with a final sneer he was gone.

Without wasting a second, I was at Stephen's side, shaking his shoulder.

"Stephen…oh god, wake up, wake up," I muttered. He woke up with a jolt. "Son of a -," he gasped and I smacked my hand to his mouth. "Don't make a scene. Do you know where we are?" I asked. "Yeah, it's the back entrance, 2 blocks over, how'd we get here?" he asked, grimacing as his fingers probed the cut on his head.

"We're being threatened. Come on; let's get back to Edward and Bella. I'll tell you on the way." I said, yanking him to his feet.

* * *

"And you're sure; you don't need a doctor's attention?" Edward asked for the fifth time.

"Yes, I'm just tired; I shouldn't have worn these high heels." I groaned. He didn't say anything, just chewed thoughtfully on his lips as I sneaked in covert glances at him.

I'd told Stephen to come by late at night and he and I were going to find a way to get the hell out of this mess. We were going to tell Edward and Bella that we needed to go home and as soon as we were safely at the airport, we would find a way to get to our librarian and see if he could help us get back home.

"Edward," I began.

"I'll take you to the airport," he said immediately.

"You don't have to do that. Really…don't make this anymore harder than it has to be," I whispered, meaning every word. I didn't know if I wanted to stay, or maybe even go back but I knew I wanted him with me which was impossible to say the least.

"It's not like its forever; I'll come by to see you over the summer, Alice will probably fly you over for Prom." He coaxed. I sighed, unable to lie again.

* * *

"Do we know what we're looking for?" Stephen asked 5 hours later, around midnight.

I shrugged as he drove on, "What did you say to them?" he asked quietly. "I told them mom wanted me back. They didn't believe me but they said that I should at least go and check on how things are in India for a while. I think they expect me to be back soon." I said.

"What about Cullen?" he asked.

"Please don't ask; it was hard enough," I whispered, remembering the way he'd kissed me, as if I was taking the very air he was breathing and he was fighting to gulp down a few mouthfuls.

"Yeah, Bella kind of didn't let me go either." He shrugged. I turned to face him. "Do you even like her?" I asked. "I like her, yes, but I don't know about love…I don't know if she's enough to hold me here. Do you love Cullen?" he countered. "I don't know, I can't even tell anymore," I sighed heavily.

"Ok, the airport entrance is through here, do you want to enter or shall we make a detour?" he asked.

"Detour, we don't have much time," I urged.

* * *

20 minutes later, we were sitting outside the school gates, kneeling while Stephen held up a Google page on how to pick locks while I struggled to fold the metal pin I'd brought into a suitable shape. I inserted the head in and began circling the other around it, trying to crack the locks into an aligned position.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

I shot my partner a venomous glare. "I'm trying to pick a lock, Stephen, when I get it, you'll know." I hissed, before being interrupted by a sharp and rather loud click and the ring snapped open around the head.

"Whoa, you did it," he whispered.

"Yeah, try not to be so shocked," I said trying to contain my own surprise. "Ok, now what…?" he asked. "Now we go to the library, there has to be something in there," I whispered.

This is a book, this is a fictional world…I kept telling myself.

The walk up to the library was silent and filled with silent jump scares when we saw lights flashing around windows and had to duck down. We both had backpacks filled with runaway tools but we were both too frazzled to switch on a flashlight.

"Is it locked?" Stephen asked as we came to the library double doors. "Nope," I pushed it open and made straight for Sorenson's desk, switching on the table lamp.

"You still haven't told me what we're looking for," Stephen grumbled.

"Papers, books, magazines, I don't know, the Tardis, anything that'll get us out of here." I whispered. "I thought you wanted to fight this person back." He said quietly.

"I thought it was human. He's not, he's a vampire, James and he's a tracker, which means he can probably tell what we're doing right now." I said.

"But still vulnerable, right…?"

"Just look,"

"Not so fast, you two."

Stephen and I both jumped so high that we bumped into each other as we looked at the older man standing right in front of us. Sorenson, what was he doing here this late at night?

"I want you to step away from the desk. No sudden movements," he said sternly. Stephen made to comply but I gripped his sleeve. "Are you Dr. Roosevelt Sorenson?" I asked, not wanting to give away the tension in me.

Eyebrows raised, the tall, thin man looked at me. "Doctor…it's been such a while that someone has called me doctor," he mused. "Listen, Dr. Sorenson, please, we need your help." I said.

Glancing at Stephen, we began our tale.

* * *

I don't know what I'd been expecting as I watched the man take a sip of cold water, his eyes roving over me and Stephen with the intelligence of a man used to being bombarded with ludicrousness. Yeah, I'd been there done that too.

"You have no idea, who this person, who you say sent you here, might be," he asked slowly.

"No sir," I said quietly.

"I see, what about you, boy? No idea, either, eh," I turned to look at Stephen who was standing a few steps behind me, looking torn. "I have…an idea. Only an idea," he said, brusquely.

"Let's hear it then," he said.

"Stephanie Meyer," Stephen muttered.

I stared at him for a bit before I laughed. Laughed, just as wild and unabashed as the three times I'd been caught off guard. "Quiet, child, I agree with him," Sorenson said, giving me enough blow to hiccup my laughter into control.

"That's insane! Why would Meyer bring us here to ruin her perfect story?" I asked, angrily.

"She didn't know we'd ruin it. Didn't you say the vampire said we hadn't done our jobs? We were supposed to do something else, we just didn't do it and now she wants us out of the way." Stephen reasoned. I looked at Sorenson. "If that's true, why send James after us? Wouldn't she be able to…I don't even know how this works," I mumbled.

"It isn't as easy as I made it sound on my website," Sorenson stood up and switched on another lamp.

"Meyer must've tapped into the essence of this world, spun the tale and gotten away with it. What she did was she wrote you two into the story, weaving a different path and inflicted it upon the energies. It's like the law of Newton; every force has an equal and opposite force. She cast you into this but you have your own hold on the world, she can't undo it," He explained.

"We have to go home though," Stephen argued.

"Is that what you really want, though?" Sorenson looked up and peered at us. "Our world has adjusted itself to you, just as you have adjusted yourselves to it, going home now won't change anything, people will still remember you, they will still…hurt," he whispered.

"Edward and Bella," I whispered sadly.

"They loved each other once, they can love each other again," Sorenson said. Stephen and I looked guiltily at each other. "We'd lose them." He said. "But we'll go home," I said.

Steeling myself, I looked at Sorenson, "Do it, we have to go home now. Our parts are done," I said firmly.

"Do it…? My dear, you must have me confused. I am not a Conjurer. I merely study the phenomena." He said mildly. "What do you mean? You can't send us back?" Stephen asked, his voice rising.

"No, I can't, to find you two has been a great honor but I'm afraid supplying information is the only thing I can do. I have faced enough ridicule in my life to go back to that part of my life again. I'm sorry, but I can't further help you."

"Tulika,"

I turned to look at Stephen then around at the window to see pinkish light blossoming over the horizon.

Our time was up.

"Now what do we do?" Stephen asked.

"We fight back. Let's find the Cullens." I said.

* * *

 **Well, Looks like Tulika and Stephen are stuck...for now.**

 **Link to the piano song:** **watch?v=rqAQnJK5Tks**

 **Hope you liked the chapter!**

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	20. 19: Outsiders vs Visitors

**Alright, This is the climax! And also, probably the chapter I enjoyed writing the most! Hope it makes up to your expectations!**

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 **Inuyashademons14 - The mystery sucks...doesn't it? Well, hopefully all will be revealed in the sequel. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this book merits another book. :D**

 **Justabookreader - Thank you! I loved the twist too. It kind of hit me in the face like a ton of bricks so... :D**

 **Kat Smith - OMG! I love puppy stories! I hope Bullet is fine and not annoying his sister anymore. :) Thanks for considering me good enough to share your life stories with! Hope you like the chapter and share your thoughts with me.**

* * *

He was walking loudly, probably for my sake, so I could just listen and wait for the third degree.

Edward had been shocked, to say the least when I'd shown up at his doorstep with Stephen in tow. He'd sat me down but I'd insisted on the entire family being there. It had taken half an hour for the Cullens to gather and it had taken nearly an hour to explain everything to them. The result…? Questions, endless questions about nothing…to everything

After the inquisition ended, Edward had said 'Go, sit in my room, I'll see you there,' so, here I was.

After 20 more excruciating seconds, the door opened, noiseless and shut. I was sitting on the couch and watched Edward lean against the door with his back, expressionless eyes on me.

"You lied to me,"

I sighed, burrowing in deeper in my jacket as I flinched away from the cold accusation in his voice.

"Technically, no, I just never told you. You always knew there was something not right about me," I amended still unable to look at him.

"Tulika, this isn't even about lying really. It's about putting yourself in danger, knowingly." He gritted out.

"Is this really what this is about?" I asked, finally looking up. "I'm not Bella, Edward. I'm not going to just sit back while I let your family or Jacob's wolf pack fight wars I began. I only came here because I need your help. That doesn't mean I'm going to sit tight and watch the action." I said, matching his angry tone.

"You're doing it again; using Bella as a shield whenever you do something wrong," he said.

"Listen to me, if you don't want to help me, fine! Just don't kick Stephen out, he's already like a puppy. I'll see myself out," I made to walk past him but Edward's hand shot out, encasing my arm in a tight vice like grip. "Don't you dare, what do you mean if I don't want to help you? I _love_ you! Of course, I will do whatever I can to protect you! Everyone will," his tone dipped towards danger zone.

I stilled.

"I…" I trailed off, watching his anger dissolve into something softer, sadder and infinitely more difficult to handle.

"However, I can see you want to go…home. I can't be selfish with something like that." He let go of my arm and walked away.

Do you ever imagine the moment when a Prince Charming will come and sweep you away from all your problems? Tell you he loves you and will stop at nothing to give you your happiness…? Imagine that, and then imagine it being shattered by a stupid thing…like being from a completely different dimension.

"Are we over?" I asked, unable to keep the pain out of my voice.

He stopped, his hand holding the door knob. I saw his jaw clench and then the door was slamming shut, wrapping me in moonlight as I stared at the crushed metal knob.

* * *

The plan was set…and completely un-proof.

Thanks to Stephen and my knowledge of the book, the Cullens knew to be prepared for two vampires. It just so happened that while James had been assaulting me in the parking lot, Laurent had shown up asking for a cover from a particularly vengeful vampire who was working for…something not good.

This 'something not good' was maybe Stephanie Meyer. I shuddered at the thought.

None of the vampires had looked at me ever since I'd come down from Edward's room. Even, Alice and Rosalie kept their distance. No doubt they'd heard the whole showdown in his room. Edward sat flanked by Jasper and Emmett as Carlisle spoke but I just stared out the wall of windows towards the woods.

I turned my head just as Carlisle told everyone to disperse and I felt his eyes fall on me before he tilted his head and walked away silently.

"Tulika…" I heard Esme come at my shoulder and I stood up heavily, following her up the stairs amid mixed stares to Alice's room.

"The clothes might be a little long," she said as she handed me jeans, a top and coat.

"No problem," I said as she walked out of the room and shut the door.

I dropped the clothes on the bed, pulling out my cell phone and calling home. What was the point of going through all this trouble if in the end I was knocking on an empty room?

 _The number you're calling is currently not reachable._

Slowly lowering my hand, I rubbed my eyes and put on the clothes with an empty feeling in my heart. It wasn't until I was zipping up the long coat that I felt the dam gates open and I sat down on Alice's bed and after pressing my own shirt against my nose and mouth started sobbing.

"Tulika, are you done?" I quickly wiped off my eyes as Esme appeared right in front of me.

"Yeah, done," I stood up and her face fell at the sight of me.

"Oh, my dear," she wrapped her soft long arms around me and I sniffed, wrapping mine around her as I leaned against her head.

"I don't want to go. I just have no choice." I whispered.

"I know. Neither do we, if we could we'd keep you here, we would but it would unbalance a lot more than just a story. You know that, Edward knows that, we all know that. You're so brave to make the right choice." She said.

"Then why does it feel like the wrong one?" I asked.

"Because love does funny things to our judgement," she smiled and tilted my head back as she tugged me gently towards the door.

"I do, I do love him." I realised.

"Yes, darling, the question is, would you tell him before or after?"

* * *

"Rosalie and Emmett have already taken Stephen. Alice and Jasper are taking your stuff to give the tracker a decoy. Esme and I will stay here to keep an eye on the area." Carlisle was saying as I stared at him with a horrified expression.

Edward stared at me for a bit before lugging a bag and nodding his head for me to follow him.

"Be safe dear," Esme gave me a last hug and Carlisle patted my back, his face sympathetic.

* * *

I opened a bleary eye to look at the digital clock on the bedside table. It read 3 AM. I groaned. Fantastic, I thought bitterly, it couldn't get any worse. Sitting duck, someone please stamp that across my head. I hadn't been sleeping for an hour and now I was awake.

Getting out of bed and tugging Alice's top lower, I made my way to the living room of the suite Edward had taken in Seattle.

"You always wanted to go to Seattle, didn't you?" he'd asked when I'd asked him mentally.

"Edward," I called and he dropped the curtain across the skyline as he looked at me.

"You should be asleep." He chastised.

"I know; I can't sleep." I said, flopping down on the sofa. He sighed but joined me, sitting on the farther edge. I eyed the distance between us, not liking it at all.

"You know, I'm sorry, right?" I asked, rubbing my temples. There was a pause but I heard his give a resigned sigh. "Yes," he answered.

"Because -"

"Alice and Jasper will be here by tomorrow. The scent must've faded by then and the tracker would come back." He said.

"Edward,"

"Rosalie and Emmett will take Stephen right up to Virginia, before back tracking. We'll figure something to send you back after we deal with James and his female."

"Listen to me,"

"You'll have to stay with us till then,"

A low snarl escaped me as I launched myself across the sofa at him. I hated being ignored and he probably knew it. His torso turned towards me and his eyes opened wide at my onslaught.

Our lips crashed roughly as he fell over backwards, arms flying out to keep me from sliding off of him.

His fingers went to my face and slid into my hair, combing it back and undoing the braid. His mouth, warm and soft, travelled over my jaw, brushing across my chin and kissing a hot trail over the column of my throat.

I let out a soft whimper and I felt him grin against the hollow of my throat. He turned over and placed me between his body and the sofa. "I love you," I breathed as his lips attached to my forehead and stilled.

"Tulika,"

"I do, really," I touched his face, reaching up to brush my lips against his but he pulled back, looking torn.

"I can tell; but I can't," he got off the couch and went to the door. "I'll be outside. The foods' on the dining table," He said and shut the door.

* * *

I watched the sunrise from the bedroom. I could hear Edward come and go from the living room, on the phone with Alice as she updated him on her visions. He probably knew I would try to over hear him so he constantly kept leaving the room to take his calls.

The cell rang so often I kind of blurred out it's blaring until it was mine that had started ringing.

Foraging it out, I looked at the caller ID and blanched. It was blocked.

"What do you want?" I whispered into it, flitting across the room to see the living room empty. "You, darling, you know that," James's creepy voice filled my ear.

"Yeah too bad, I'm kind of on house arrest." I snapped, shutting the door to the bathroom gently and starting the tap of the sink.

"Get out of it; you managed to sneak into our world, you can sneak out of your boyfriend's grip."

"Go to hell."

"Uh, uh, Sweetheart, you might not want to do that. My boss is not the most patient of people." "Tell your boss to go to hell too," I said and he laughed.

"Oh darling, you know I like you. I really do, but people say it is bad manners to play with food so I'll make you a deal. You meet me – any place, you name it and maybe I won't hurt that little quaint family of yours back in Forks." I could hear the grinning from over the phone.

"Carlisle and Esme won't let you touch a hair on their heads." I snarled.

"Oh believe me, I can be sneaky too. See, they think I'm somewhere on that little pixie and her blonde's trail. Victoria never left Forks. It isn't that hard to fool the minx when you know how to do it," He said and I remembered that James knew Alice from way before she was even born a vampire.

"How long do you think it'll take for her to snap their necks and get back? Your Cullens may be fast; but they're not that fast. So, consider it, oh and if you call them or tell anyone about our little chat. Well, you know the drill. I'll call back in an hour."

"No, I'll – I'll do it. I can get somewhere but I don't know this place well."

"No problem; you are in the Fairmont. The Seattle Art Museum is a five minute walk. Meet me there at midnight, oh and, bring the kid."

James hung up.

* * *

I always thought how Stupid Bella was when she dodged vampires to run off to protect her mother, who wasn't even in the vampire's grip. Yeah, too bad in my case, Bella and Charlie were really in danger of having their necks snapped.

My plan was not brilliant but it was supposed to be good.

Alice and Jasper had intercepted Stephen and we were meeting at the airport. They would take me and him somewhere north, possibly Alaska and wait the vampire out till he had to show. I didn't even have that much time.

I waited for Edward as he locked the door and stopped him with a hand on his arm before closing the distance to give him a firm but passionate kiss.

If this was my last time with him alone, I wanted it to last.

Edward didn't pull back but his brow did furrow in puzzlement as I put on a façade of mock cheer. If I wanted to get away with it, I had to act insane, so he wouldn't suspect anything.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just…I think he's not going to be much of a hassle anymore." I said, smiling wide at him as we got off at the parking lot. Edward didn't comment as he had a mental conversation with Alice and Jasper.

"Hey, Stephen, do you want to get a soda?" I asked, shuffling for some change in my jacket pocket, grabbing Stephen's hand and leading him sternly down the aisle, keeping the picture of the soda machines firmly in my mind.

Just as we reached the aisle, I snapped a picture of it, and then stared at it while taking the complete opposite direction.

"What are we doing?" Stephen asked, as usual suspicious.

"Getting us home," I handed him the phone and raised my hand for a cab. A yellow taxi pulled right up on the curb and I pushed him into it.

"Seattle Art Museum,"

Stephen turned to look at him and I gave him a slow pointed nod and he slumped back, looking curiously resigned. Well, so was I…I was giving in to Fate.

* * *

"Welcome to the Seattle Art Museum, right this way miss, sir," an elderly clerk said and began leading us through the darkened alleys.

"Where's he taking us?" Stephen whispered.

"To James; he's been persuaded." I whispered back as lights came on suddenly.

"That was fast, Tulika, very fast, I'm impressed."

Stephen and I turned to see the nondescript looking man in jeans, black boots and a simple grey t-shirt and a white flannel over it. Deep grey eyes stared at us from the top of the stairs as he inclined his head towards the clerk.

"You've been very helpful, sir. Kindly do the needful," he said.

I was about to turn when I heard Stephen yell something and I was being pushed away as the sound of gunshot echoed all around us, followed by deafening silence.

Oh my god, he'd killed himself…James compelled a man to shoot himself.

"You freak!" I heard Stephen yell at him and when I looked up he was standing right in front of us, smiling easily.

"I suppose Boss won't care either way," he said before blurring.

I turned around in time to shove Stephen out of the way as James went flying past us. Looks like watching Buffy did pay off, I thought grimly as I stood up quickly and threw a punch that made his face turn but he just turned back to watch me, smiling dangerously as he anticipated the next blow and crushed my hand.

I cried out, feeling myself being lifted and thrown. I landed on the edge of the stairs, pain shooting through my entire body as I felt something in my body snap and warm liquid ooze out and crawled up to see Stephen tackle James, both falling down. It didn't take long as James flipped Stephen over, his head smashing against the stone pillar.

He let out a guttural groan but managed to throw one last kick at James that he caught, flinging the fading boy over his shoulder and ramming him against the banner. Stephen didn't get back up as I threw myself across the stairs, rushing over to get to the glass doors. I had to give Alice credit though. She had to be watching out for me.

My hand just brushed the double handles before I was being thrown back, landing painfully through the glass walls which smashed under me. I screamed when I felt sharp shards pierce me but James was already walking over to me.

"Your smell is rather delicious. I could take a bite, or just…drink you up whole. It's a real dilemma." He sighed before raising his foot and trampling over my fingers. I bit back another scream as I coughed out blood. "Well then," he bent over me. I didn't even have the energy to bite back at him. I could feel the pain slowly numbing away…I probably had internal bleeding by now. I closed my eyes tightly, knowing I wasn't going to survive this.

"What to do with you?" The question was rhetorical and musing, as if he had all the time in the world to weigh his options.

"You could let her go."

James and I both looked up at the voice.

* * *

 **The scene with Edward and Esme really made me sad. :( Poor Tulika, she just can't catch a break, can she...?**

 **I know, I'm very cruel. James just made me angry and Tulika's life hangs on a string... _but, yay!_ Someone came to save the day!**

 **How did you like the chapter? Please let me know.**

 **Oh, and the link to Tulika's song is :** **watch?v=rqAQnJK5Tks. Please listen to it. It's awesome and all credits go to Irdeen of Youtube. This song is everything I imagined would be describing T.**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW :)**


	21. Epilogue: Loss and Gain

**The final chapter! I legit cried...**

 **Well, hopefully, you have enjoyed this journey with me as much as I have enjoyed hiking you around for the ride.**

* * *

 **Inuyashademons14 - Don't be too sad, darling!**

 **Kat Smith - This is pure coincidence. You didn't write your name and it only showed up as Guest. Lucky I remembered Bullet and Silver. Love those two labs btw. Sorry that he's bothering you but look on the bright side: only one of them is! Hope you like the chapter! Also, I'm sorry about the Cliffhanger. Actually - maybe not that much - but you understand :D**

 **Ginkgo00 - Thank you for liking my story even if it's not your cup of tea! Means a lot to me!**

* * *

Edward stood calmly enough, watching the scene in front of him with an almost disinterested look in his eyes till his eyes found me, the calmness giving over to an emotion that I was too dazed to process.

"Man of the hour," James howled. "I was hoping you'd show up, you know, with all the might of your coven. Give it a little incentive," he quickly made a move and excruciating pain flooded me.

I didn't register the hurtling force that was Edward as he flew at James at an impossible speed, throwing them both into the stairs, the marble caving in.

A roar, deafening and ear shattering, erupted in the marble hall and then another, a high pitched laughter. "Is that the best you can do?"

I tilted my head, trying to find my bearings as I saw Edward push James against a bust of a man, James's nose looked bent out of shape and his mouth was openly bleeding but Edward was way past gone. His eyes, glowing gold-green flamed as he slammed his fist down on James's arm. The snap of bone was sickening as I tried to crawl back.

I managed to push myself as far as Stephen when a tickling of glass told me that someone had crossed the same barrier I had. I turned to see blurry shapes flicker around us as James and Edward continued to snarl at each other.

* * *

Soothing hands wrapped around me and I felt myself being lifted into Alice's arms and backed up. "Edward, calm down," another voice yelled and I opened my eyes to see Carlisle grip Edward and push him away while Jasper and Emmett gripped James between them.

"Alice," Jasper called and she gave me a concerned look before flitting away to the pair.

"Tulika, Tulika," Someone cradled my battered body to them and I sighed against Edward's woody smell. "You came back for me?" I asked, thickly.

His beautiful face was spinning. Or maybe that was just me; I gulped and bent over as another wave of pain hit me and I erupted into bloody coughs. Edward groaned as he tried to sit me up.

"Just you get better, you can't imagine the trouble you are in," he whispered as another person joined us.

I gripped blindly at the person's arm. "Stephen…he's…alive?"

There was a heavy pause in which I could only see Edward staring intently at whoever was sitting across from him. "His neck broke, when he hit the floor. It must've been almost instantaneous."

It was enough for my heart to drop to my stomach – literally and figuratively. "No, oh god, no…please, don't be dead…this is my fault." Hot tears flooded down my cheek but Edward quickly swiped them away. "Calm down, Tulika, please, it's not helping…Carlisle, do something…she's bleeding too much." He said, frantically before adding something that I would've missed if I wasn't so focused on him.

"I can hear her heartbeat slowing."

* * *

I knew it, I thought numbly. My heartbeat was going. I was fading away. I was…the word was difficult to think about, much less say it but I had to.

"Edward," I reached out and took his face in my hand. "I'm not going to make it." His face immediately turned to outrage. "Don't you dare say that, Carlisle won't let you die…You're strong, you're going to survive this. Come on, love, stay with me…" He said and I felt a quick jab in the crook of my elbow, making me flinch.

"Morphine, it's just morphine…hush, now…Carlisle," He said, before I heard Carlisle place a warm hand over my neck, just at my pulse. "I'm so sorry, son. She's lost too much. The only other alternative is to change her." Carlisle said heavily but I jumped. "No, no, let me go…" I slurred, already sleepy from the morphine. "No, no, please…Tulika, I love you, don't leave me, not like this." His voice broke at the end and I could just swear he was crying. "I love you too. Don't tell Bella or Charlie; just tell them…we went home. Promise me Edward," I said.

"I promise."

That was the last thing I heard before everything was silent.

* * *

 _Promise me Edward…_

Those had been my final words to the man I loved. If anything, I was certain that he would keep it. My body was floating, but I was shrouded in darkness, my chest constricting painfully. I couldn't see anything, not even my hands, much less the white light at the end of the tunnel.

If this was dying…it kind of sucked.

The strange thing was…I could hear. I could hear muffled conversation, a familiar voice, softly calling my name, another voice, also familiar but much more hysterical.

My senses were coming back. I could hear beeping now, close to my head, I could feel cold air on my skin, a strong sharp smell that was clearly disinfectant in my nostrils. Was I not dead? I tried to move my fingers and I felt stiff sheets under them. Ok, this was way past weird.

"Are you going to wake up?" I jerked awake and my head slammed against the figure leaning over me. I gasped out loudly, my chest inflating and decompressing as I struggled to fill up on air. I was – quite literally – coming back from the dead. Let me tell you, the practice is not at all as romantic as the idea is made out to be.

"Ow, hey," The man complained.

"Edward…?" I said, wildly, trying to get off of the bed.

"No, it's me…Stephen," I blinked before I reached automatically for my glasses, sliding them on and looking around.

The room was white, a stand with various machines next to me. White sheets surrounded me and my left arm was tightly bound to me and my ankle in a brace.

"Edward," I breathed again. He'd managed to save me. Oh god, I owed him my life…or rather I owed Carlisle my life but… a horrifying idea hit me. I wasn't a vampire, was I? I didn't feel like one. I felt distinctly human. Stephen's mouth curled in a grimace and he shook his head.

"Tulika…oh my god," I looked up to see my mother and father burst in from the other side.

"Mom…?" I asked, horrified. Oh god, what would she say about Edward and the Cullens?

"Guess what…? We're back at home." Stephen said heavily and I stilled.

An indescribable pain bloomed somewhere in my chest as if a 100 ft python was wrapping itself methodically around me. I looked at Stephen and he looked away, blinking as if it hurt him too somewhere.

"We were so scared, baby. Your grandparents found you this morning and you wouldn't wake up. We tried everything…the doctors kept saying stuff about Retrograde Coma." She bent over, kissing my face.

"Mom, have I been missing for the past few months?" I asked, slowly.

"What…? No baby, it hasn't even been a week. Do you feel confused?"

"No," I whispered and as I realized just what I'd lost…and at the price what I'd gained my own world back, I couldn't hold it back.

"I just missed you." I said and placed my head against her shoulder, weeping for the people I'd probably never see again but I'd love forever.

* * *

 **This is the part I started bawling at. I mean, I don't feel the Twilight characters as much but in this book they are what I made them - so just deal with it!**

 **I am going to thank a lot of people here.**

 **Stephanie Meyer - you still are a little wacky for giving impressionable teens this wackdoodle of a book. And yes, you're still the suspicious one in my book.**

 **All the readers - Thank you so much!**

 **All the followers and ones who have faved this book - Thank you too!**

 **The Reviewrs - You are awesome!**

 **I enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoyed reading it!**

 **Much Much Love...**

 **Vasilisa & Tulika**


	22. Last Minute Additions

**Hey! I'm back!**

 **Ok, maybe not for a while but I'm happy to say the sequel is on its way. I'm going to have to put it on hold for a while since I have some school stuff coming up but preeeety sure I can make it by February.**

 **Till then I have a couple questions for all the readers!**

* * *

 **What do you think should be the mainframe of the sequel? (I'm completely legitimate in asking this since I won't have to change a thing ;) )**

 **Any special effects thoughts for this particular tale? I would love some excerpts and fanart!**

 **Also, do you think I should post a story with all the little titbits scenes I didn't include in the main story?**

 **Or maybe a story where you can ask questions and the characters answer them?**

 **And Last but not the least: What should be the ship name of our TxE?**

* * *

 **Inuyashademons14 - Of course I'm making a sequel! I need some TxE love myself :D**

 **Kat Smith - Thank you so much! Hope you return for the next one!**

 **FreeSpiritSeeker - There sure will be!**

 **ChristianMom54 - Thanks for the compliment and also for understanding!**

 **texiut - I can just thank you for such a high compliment!**

 **Guests - Sorry, I can't personally thank you all but still...Thanks!**

 **ACFan - That's so sweet! Hope you come back for the sequel!**

 **That1NamedJeska - Um...I don't know about crazy since T really isn't that kind of girl but she'll definitely come back ;) Thanks!**

 **Em - I'm sorry for leaving you pissed and dissatisfied :( But patience darling, that is why the concept of sequels was invented so we can make better what we did. So Hope you come back for the next one!**

* * *

 **Please answer these questions as they are actually important for me!**

 **PM me or Leave a Review and I'll get back to you!**


	23. Birthday Peak

**Hey folks! No...again, this is not a report. I know I'm horrible.**

* * *

 **But...**

 **Since it's January 20th...that's my _birthday_ , I'm giving you all a return gift as I consider your support my ultimate gift.**

 **(Psst, if any of you do want to send me some *ahem* gifts; I'm cheap and easy and I respond to the following golden word: FOOD)**

 **Anyways, jokes aside, here's a little sneak peak.**

 **Have fun!**

* * *

Ironically, I was dreaming. It was ironic because that's what Bella did the day of her birthday and I was reading New Moon. Not so ironically, it was Edward I was dreaming about. Only, I wasn't dreaming about getting old and withering while my boyfriend remained perfectly ageless.

No, what I was dreaming about was worse…and also a lot deeper, if I do say so myself.

I was back in the Twilight world, in the Seattle Art Museum, dying in Edward's arms. _I promise,_ I heard his voice reverberate in the contours of my skull just as I let go of the last thread holding me to that world – literally and figuratively.

* * *

I woke up.

I turned over to look at the ceiling, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight streaming in through the open windows. Sunlight, I thought, had never been the waking factor back in Forks. It had always been an alarm, or Bella waking me up. Now, it was the sun, the alarm or my mother who had taken to peeking in my room just to see if I was alive – not awake.

Not many teenagers could say they had died in their favourite book world and had woken up in their own. Oh, what I would not give to be one of those kids…sadly, I wasn't one of those kids. One of the two kids ever, to be truthful…

I got off the bed and padded to my mirror, looking into it to see the same face, brown eyes, brown hair, pyjamas and glasses. Not one thing was out of the ordinary, yet all of me was pressed up against the phenomena of extraordinary.

All because of Meyer…I thought viciously.

She'd ripped me and Stephen from our normal, happy, not-liking-Twilight lives and thrust us right into her crazy book world where we'd made the worst mistakes of our lives. Not only did we fail to do whatever the hell she wanted us to do, we also got close to the characters – ones we had to leave behind.

At least that was what I did. I fell in love with Edward Cullen. How stupid could I be?

The worst thing was that I still did. I missed him, I dreamt about him, I thought of him, I even tried to play the song he'd made for me but I hadn't been able to get the same amount of perfection to it.

 _I promise…_

I thought of his voice again, remembering the texture, the tenor, the intensity of it. That was one of the main things I had to hold on to the fact that I hadn't just dreamt up the whole thing. I'd read somewhere that you couldn't make up voices – and I remembered his clearly.

Well, there was that…and there was Stephen.

* * *

Impulsive, rash, and thoroughly real Stephen…the poor boy had woken up hours before I had in the same hospital, miles from home.

He'd gotten in trouble both ways till I stepped in saying that he was a friend and he'd come over to meet me. He had spent a week in the hospital before his folks came over to get him, asking all sorts of questions about how we knew each other and how he'd gotten a neck injury so severe it seemed like a miracle he was alive.

Honestly, it wasn't a miracle. It was Quantum Physics and a whole lot of dimensional theory, I couldn't explain to his parents without being tossed into the sanatorium.

Good thing was; he'd convinced his parents to let him visit me again. This time; without the reality shifting and almost illegal travelling…so, I supposed it was a good thing.

After all, it was, my birthday…

* * *

 **Well...?**

 **Did that meet the expectations out there? Yes? No? Maybe so?**

 **I sincerely hope you do.**

 **Before I forget:**

 **1) Do you think I should make a different story featuring the 'deleted scenes' from the stories?**

 **2) Do you think I should make an interview section...like where you ask questions and the characters answer them?**

 **3) Do you have any ship names for this story couples, couplets, etcs?**

 _ **Thanks! Please Review!**_


	24. Happy Valentine's Day & Sneak Peak

**Hi my Beautiful People!**

 **Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a little sneak peak to how our two comrades return to the land of Vamps!**

 **Hope You like it!**

 **A big hug to all my reviewers!**

* * *

Her hair was longer, I thought idly as there was silence on both sides of the door.

Isabella Marie Swan, my best friend in the Twilight World had only slightly changed. Not that I was expecting any changes, duh, I mean, I didn't even think for a second I was ever going to see her again but the sight of her did make me take a look quickly.

She was looking pastier, her dark hair and eyes, so similar to mine, if not a little less bright had clearly not been exposed much to the sun. Her back length hair now hung to her waist and she was wearing her usual full sleeved t-shirts and a pair of sweats and socks. In contrast, I was sure Stephen and I looked hilarious.

She was the poster child of Sunless Sorrows while we both were tanned and looking very, very thunderstruck…from the marketing lands of Sunny lane.

She was still gaping at us when Stephen spoke up, in his dry voice. "If neither of you are going to speak, I'm going home." He said.

I shot him a quick look.

Bella blinked furiously then threw her arms around me. "Oh god, here I thought I was never going to see you again! Dad, Dad, look who finally decided to come home!"

I had wrapped my arms around her, purely to keep myself from falling off but I still cringed when she said 'come home'.

There was a shuffle of footsteps and then I was in the firm and manly grasp of Chief Charlie Swan.

"You should've called. We would've picked you up." He grumbled, which was his way of saying he was very glad to see me. I looked over his shoulder to see Bella press her lips to Stephen's who was still looking like he wasn't very sure of his place in the world. I didn't blame him.

* * *

Stephen and I were carted into the living room and soon we were busy making up stories of how we got there…with a few discrepancies.

"I saw him -,"

"I was waving like mad, she just wouldn't look."

Stephen and I both stopped at that, looking at each other with varying measures of exasperation and embarrassment. It was clear he couldn't lie properly, at least not when he was still shell shocked. "I'll let you tell it then," he said sheepishly. I cleared my throat and carried on, weaving a seamless yarn of a fake meeting at the airport, a spontaneous decision to surprise everyone and I ended it with an emotional 'so happy to be back'.

Charlie and Bella didn't look like they suspected anything so they just nodded along.

"This is amazing; you're back before Prom…now I won't have to sulk at home and Edward won't mope!"

Stephen and I both choked at that.

"Come again…?" I asked, my eyes watering.

Bella looked at me slowly then enunciated. "Prom…I mean, I knew you were a junkie and I knew you would be back but still, I'm just glad you won't be missing Prom. You'll have to help me though. I have no clue what to do,"

I squinted at her. "Bell…since when did you become a party-gofer?" I asked.

"Well," she cast a shy look at Charlie and Stephen, "I took a leaf out of your book. I don't want you to sit at home because of me, like you did at the Spring Dance." She said.

"That wasn't…" I caught Stephen's imperceptible move and shut up quickly, not bothering to correct her. Instead, I put on a huge grin. "That's awesome, Bells. We'll knock their socks off."

I didn't have to look at my Partner in Crime to know it would be anything but awesome.

* * *

My room hadn't changed. Correction – my room looked like it had been memorialized. It didn't seem like any one had even wandered into the room during the time I was gone. I didn't know what to feel about that. Even the clothes, I'd left draped on my desk chair were there. I was swiping them off when I caught Bella walking Stephen to the end of the driveway. His hands were back in the pockets and so were Bella's. It looked like the awkwardness of seeing each other after six months of no contact had finally caught up.

"How do you feel about school tomorrow?" I turned to see Charlie leaning in the doorway.

"Oh, you know…I'll be fine." I said lamely.

"Well, just so you know, you might just face a mob, if what Bella tells me is true, your friends missed you," he said.

I nodded. "I missed them too." I said, meaning it. I did miss Angela and Lauren…I wasn't so sure about Jessica, Mike and Eric and of course, there were the Cullens to consider.

"Charlie, what's…up…with the…you know, Cullens?" I asked, haltingly. I didn't know what I wanted him to answer. I just knew I couldn't handle 'I think they left,' or 'T, Edward's moved on,'

"They're still here. I expect, they'll be the most surprised when they see you tomorrow. Edward really watched out for Bella the first couple of months when you and Garrison left." He said before waving a goodnight.

I just stood there, wringing out the sash of my bathrobe.

* * *

 _Bella and I were walking through the school hallways._

 _Nothing had changed, except maybe the dirty looks I was getting thrown from people I had never even spoken to._

 _"_ _She's back…? OMG, she's got guts, after what she did…" I caught one blond girl saying behind her hand and frowned, looking down and hurrying after Bella. The surprising this was that she was basking in the attention. "Hey, Bella," "Hi Bella," were echoing all around us and she lapped it all up._

 _What was happening?_

 _"_ _Hey, you don't look so good. Do you want to go home?" Bella said, looking back at me with a concerned expression._

 _"_ _No," I said, watching people watch me._

 _Why were they being so hostile? What had I done? Ok…maybe, I'd ruined the Twilight love story, but…what did they know about it?_

 _"_ _So, she's back, is she?" I quickly looked over my shoulder to see Alice and Rosalie with Jasper and Emmett looking at me with cold looks on their faces as they swarmed around Bella. "Yeah, she is," she smiled at me and hers was the only look that contained even a shred of warmth._

 _"_ _Too bad," Alice sneered while Rosalie twirled Bella's hair and Jasper and Emmett gave me stony looks._

 _"_ _Alice, be nice, let's not ruin her first day back."_

 _I froze. No, I completely stilled, my world stopped spinning as I saw the tall figure emerge from the Cullen's midst. He had on a smile too but it was nowhere near the smiles he used to give me. It was purely friendly, like I meant nothing to him but the just a girl he knew in school._

 _I stared as he wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders and plastered a kiss all over her face. I gasped, falling back as they kept kissing, while the Cullens watched me triumphantly. "See…they're finally together. Good riddance from you," Rosalie snapped at me._

 _"_ _Stop it, you're not real!" I yelled and they broke apart before looking at each other then Bella stepped up to me, making me take a step back._

 _Her skin was pale white, her eyes a luminous golden and her movements weren't jerky and unsure but nimble and graceful._

 _"_ _We're sorry, Tulika. It's only fair. You took his from me once; but you know he belongs with me, don't you?"_

 _"_ _Go to hell," I snarled but her face didn't change, she still had that condescending look on her face._

 _"_ _Give up, T. You can't have him."_

 _I spun around, trying to get away from them but I was surrounded. All around me were familiar and unfamiliar faces. Charlie, Billy, Jacob, Stephen, Mike, Jess, Angela, Lauren…all of them, circled me and chanted like a sick cult: Give him up, give him up, give him up…_

 _"_ _No, please," I whispered as I sunk to the ground, clutching my bag to my chest._

* * *

 ** _So...?_**

 ** _Please Tell me if I should continue!_**

 ** _Love you all and red roses for all the readers who review for this._**

 ** _Since, I'm slightly busy right now; I can't promise you any more peaks but don't worry. The story's well on its way and should be posted within...this year ;)_**

 ** _Like I always say: I'm ADDICTED TO YOUR REVIEWS SO PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	25. Sequel is Up!

**Hey!**

 **The time for the Sequel is at hand!**

 **!SEQUEL HAS BEEN POSTED!**

 **Hope you guys like it!**


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